The Rise of Vegeta
by Xyex
Summary: Vegeta's decided to return to his own world to train and he's about to get some good training as the world comes under attack. Saga 4 of Altered History
1. Leaving for Vegeta

A/N: Welcome, to Altered History Saga 4! Hope you've been enjoying the series so far. Now, a quick word about something that could be a little confusing. This takes place -during- the 5th saga. How? Well, saga 5 covers the Androids, this covers a span during the 3 years of training for the Androids. The Slug/Recoome fights were in August of 763, this starts in April of 765.

Chapter One - Leaving for Vegeta

Bulma gazed down at the Capsule Corp courtyard and watched Yamcha and Krillin sparring in the warm afternoon sun. She'd offered one of the larger guest rooms to Yamcha and Hotaru when they'd first arrived on Earth nearly a year previously. They'd been the least noisy of her guests though. Her other guest... he was loud, obnoxious, annoying, arrogant, and... kinda cute. 

She turned from the scene outside started toward the hallway when the bellowing voice of her other main guest echoed from her bathroom. "What... what is the meaning of this!" he cried loudly.

She stopped and grinned, having a very good idea what he was yelling about. "Meaning of what, Vegeta?" she asked.

"There aren't any towels!"

Bulma reached a hand up and covered her mouth to try and muffle her laughing. "Oh, sorry Vegeta. I forgot to tell you. The maid came by early today to do the laundry. There's guest towels in the bathroom down the hall, you could use those."

"And what, go down the hall stark naked?" he cried indignantly.

"Well, I'd get them for you, but I'm running late for a meeting with my father." she said walking out of the room and starting down the stairs. She only went down to the first landing however, and then turned and looked back up again. Sure enough, her early morning efforts paid off, and Vegeta emerged from her room naked and wet. She only caught a glimpse of him as he moved down the hall for a towel grumbling about how he should have stayed at the embassy after all, but she still smiled.

Bulma held her laughter until she reached the bottom floor and then couldn't hold it anymore and leaned against the wall for support. As she closed her eyes from laughing the sight of Vegeta flashed in her mind again and her face went red instantly. /I'm behaving like a schoolgirl/ she thought. The thought made her calm down some, her laughing subsiding. But her face was still red and she still couldn't get the image of Vegeta out of her head.

She shook her head and continued down the hall and then into the elevator down to her father's lab. "Bulma, hold the door!" a voice called. The blue haired woman reached out and pressed the door-open button. A moment later Hotaru entered the elevator as well and they began the descent down to the lab. "Thanks Bulma."

"Sure. It's nice to see I'm not the only one running late today."

Hotaru shrugged. "I didn't have the energy to get out of bed this morning... and Yamcha's out training already." she shook her head. "I don't know how he does it..."

Bulma glanced over at her. "Oh really?"

"What? Bulma!" she cried turning red. "That's not what I meant!"

The blue haired woman laughed. "Sure, whatever you say dear."

She pretended to glare at the other woman for moment before she cracked up laughing. "Seriously though, that's not what I meant. It's just, crying at all hours of the night... Though, I think Yamcha just sleeps through it half the time."

Bulma laughed. "That certainly sounds like Yamcha. He could sleep through the world blowing up." she said smiling a little. "So, who's watching Sakura?"

"Chi-Chi offered." Hotaru sighed. "She's definitely a baby person." She was silent a moment as she gazed at Bulma. "And what about you? When are you finally going to make your move, or have I just been so busy I missed it?"

"What are talking about?"

"Vegeta of course! It's obvious you like him."

Before Bulma could offer any kind of answer the elevator stopped and the doors slipped open. With a silent 'thank Kami' Bulma moved out of the small room and into her father's large lab. She made her way, with Hotaru right behind her, across the room to where her father was working. "So, how's it coming along?" she asked.

"It's coming, it's coming..." he said gazing at a blueprint. "You haven't happened to have seen Hotaru yet, have you?"

"Right here." she said walking up to him.

"Ah, good. I could use your help figuring out a few of these parts."

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Bardock landed in the Capsule Corp courtyard just as Yamcha and Krillin finished up their spar. "How's it coming guys?" he asked.

"Slowly." Krillin said frowning. "I just don't think we'll be any help..."

"You never know. Just keep up the work. We'll need all the power we can manage." The two Humans nodded and Bardock entered the building. It only took a moment to spy who he was looking for, Vegeta sat at the kitchen table stuffing away Chi-Chi's cooking. "Ah, there you are Prince Vegeta."

Vegeta paused in the middle of shoveling food in his mouth and looked up. "What is it Bardock?"

"I was wondering if you'd changed your mind about joining us..."

Vegeta grunted and went back to his eating. He'd not taken too well to the idea that he'd been beaten to the punch, as it were, by not just one Sai-jin, but multiple. Bardock had always heard stories before about Vegeta's ego and pride but he'd been experiencing them first hand lately. He shrugged and looked over to Chi-chi. "Think you can manage another Sai-jin at the table?" he asked.

"Sure, no problem." Chi-Chi replied. "But if Sakura wakes up it'll cut your meal short."

"It's better than dealing with Gohan's over cooked fish again." the Sai-jin replied taking a seat.

"When are they going to be coming back in?" Chi-Chi asked as she brought over the most recent stack of pancakes and set them down in front of Bardock.

"We'll be taking a break sometime next week." Bardock replied digging into the food. A few minutes later he was still eating when he sensed a power flare up in the area and looked up to find Vegeta missing. The Prince had been working himself so hard the past eight months it was actually hindering his progress. Still, he was the strongest of their group. In base at least. Bardock sighed and finished up his food. 

"That was great as always Chi-Chi, thanks." he said standing.

"What, leaving without saying hello?" Bulma asked entering the room.

Bardock grinned and shook his head. "Never. So, how's progress coming?"

"Slowly. But it should be ready in a couple more months."

"That's good news at least. Well, I really should go before the others start wondering what's taking so long. Later!" He gave the two women a departing wave and left the room before blasting off and back out to where the others were training. Bulma watched him go and then took the small plate of pancakes off of Chi-Chi and the two women sat down to their breakfast. However, it was interupted a moment later by an explosion that rocked the entire compound.

At first Bulma thought it had come from down in the lab but then she saw the smoke through one of the windows and realized it was from outside. She stood quickly knocking her chair over and ran outside as Chi-Chi moved over to the now crying Sakura. Bulma rushed out the doors into the courtyard and moved over to where Krillin and Yamcha were already digging through debris. "Oh no, Vegeta!" she cried seeing what little remained of the gravity chamber he'd been using.

She'd been about to run over and help when some of the debris parted and a hand reached out. A second later another followed and Vegeta lifted himself into a sitting position weakly, and then fell back over again. Bulma ran over and knelt down beside him checking his pulse first. She sighed in relief when she felt it, though not as strong as normal. "Help me get him inside." she called over her shoulder. The two Humans nodded and moved over to her side.

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He was surrounded in pure blackness. A sudden sound like rushing wind reached his ears and he spun around in the darkness and came face to face with Kakkarotto, Bardock, and Gohan. All three of them flashed gold and transformed. Vegeta let out a growl and sent a stream of purple energy sailing toward them but they vanished and the blast sped off into the darkness. He heard a yell behind him and turned once more, this time to find the scene from eight months before and the unknown man who transformed as well.

Vegeta was about to yell something when the darkness began to recede and reveal a desolate landscape. The scene before him vanished as the darkness conintued to pull back revealing dead bodies laying everywhere. Vegeta's eyes widened in fear as he gazed about and, for the first time, recognized where he was standing. Just to his right stood a blue doorway that lead to yet another pile of tan rubble. But he knew this rubble. "C... Capsule Corp?"

A laughing reached his ears and he looked ahead again and saw a shadow standing inside towering flames. For the first time in this dream he heard a voice, familiar and yet not. It was calm, arrogant, malicious, and mocking. "Come now! Is that all you've got! I thought you were supposed to be the greatest Sai-jin?"

Vegeta snapped his head up to look toward the smoke filled sky as he heard a growl and voice that was beyond familiar to him. His own voice. "You dare mock me! You will pay for what you have done!" All he could see was a streak of gold surging down into the flames, and then a thunderous crack shattered them and he saw the golden streak knocked away from the form in the flames, and once more he got a clear view of the owner of that form. The golden eyes seemed to bore right into him.

Vegeta jerked and sat up, the oxygen mask falling off of his face. He looked about him, his heart pounding in his chest. But as he realized where he was his pulse slowed and he relaxed some. That's when his eyes settled on Bulma who'd fallen asleep at her desk beside her bed. He reached a hand up to his head and rubbed it as he tried to figure out what was happening with him. /It still keeps coming. But what is it? What does it mean/

He sighed as he pulled himself up completely and leaned back against the headboard. /That was Capsule Corp beside me, or what was left of it. But... how could I have been seeing it before I'd even heard of Earth, let alone been here? And, that was my voice I'd heard. But my aura... was I a Super Sai-jin? And who is that man in the flames? I know that voice, but I've never heard it before... I know that face, but it's not familiar... and those eyes... not even Frieza's gaze terrified me like that.../

He was snapped out of his thoughts a moment later by Bulma's voice. "Oh, Vegeta, you're awake!" He didn't say anything, just looked at her for a moment, before turning his gaze toward the ceiling. "You really should ease up some Vegeta, or you'll end up killing yourself."

"I'm going back home." he said at last.

"What? Why?" Bulma asked suprised.

Vegeta remained silent for a long moment, the dream... or vision? Whatever it was, it was still going through his mind, though it was becoming hazy now. "I can train better there." he said at last. It wasn't the entire truth, but he wasn't even admitting that to himself, no way he'd admit it to her.

Bulma sighed and turned her eyes toward the ground for a moment, but then she perked up suddenly. "Well then, I'm coming with you." she said with a nod.

"What?"

"You heard me. If you're going then so am I."

Vegeta frowned slightly but said nothing.

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It had only been a few hours since Vegeta had decided to leave for Planet Vegeta. He'd refused being placed in a regen tank saying that his injuries weren't that severe but Bulma saw him wince almost every time he reached out his arms. Still, she knew better than to argue with him about it, he'd only dig his heels in further. Bulma shut her last suitcase and locked it before looking out her window at the setting sun.

She'd only had the time to tell Krillin, Hotaru, and her father that she was leaving. Krillin was rather shocked, Hotaru just grinned and winked at her, and her father... she wasn't even sure he'd actually heard her. With a sigh she moved back over to her two suitcases packed full of capsules, her entire wardrobe in fact, and moved out into and down the hall and out to the waiting taxi that would take her to the embassy.

She looked out her window at West City as the car moved and hoped that the next time she saw the city it was just as peaceful as it looked now. 


	2. Homecoming

Chapter Two - Homecoming

Vegeta stared at the various formal armors that filled his closet and debated on which he should wear. It had been almost two weeks since he and Bulma had departed Earth and they'd be arriving on Vegeta in a few more hours. He'd already spoken with his father earlier and a room was being prepared in the castle for them. Vegeta smirked lightly as he remembered the look on his father's face when he'd said that Bulma had come along, and the look when he'd corrected him that they needed only one room.

"I like that blue one." a voice came from behind him. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Bulma standing in the doorway to the bathroom, dripping wet, and completely naked. "And where are the towels?"

Vegeta smirked. "The maid came by early to do the laundry. There should be some down the hall in the closet." he said turning around and pulling out the blue armor Bulma had mentioned. It was one of the fancier pieces of armor he had, it had been a gift from... someone, years ago. He could only vaguely remember receiving it. As he laid it down on the bed he noticed Bulma was still standing in the doorway to the bathroom. "You're not going to find any towels standing there staring at me."

"How did you..."

Vegeta chuckled but said nothing. Bulma decided she'd have to speak with her maid when she got back to Earth and proceeded out into the hall to find a closet and a towel. He watched her leave and then turned back to the armor and remembered why he'd never worn it before, since it lacked the chest plate portion. Shrugging he began to smooth out the cape attatched to it when he noticed a pendant wrapped inside the cloth.

Curious he picked it up and gazed at the yellow green gem before flipping it over and spying an inscription on it. "Destiny is what we make it." he said softly. Why did that sound so familiar? He flipped it back over and gazed at the gem again. "When did I recieve this armor? What was I, five? Six maybe..." he said thinking aloud. His thumb slipped down along the edge of the pendant and it suddenly clicked and opened a little.

Vegeta narrowed his eyes and flipped the top open with his thumb. Instantly his eyes widened as he gazed at what he found inside. And with the image came a rush of memories from his childhood. "My fifth birthday." he said glancing to the armor again. "It was a gift from my mother, to mark the beginning of my warrior training." He looked down at the pendant again, the cover side contained a picture of his father, his mother, and him at age five. "Two weeks before the accident..."

He remembered his father explaining the pendant. It had been tradition for generations. The Prince would receive his grandfather's pendant on his fifth birthday. It would contain only an image of him and his parents taken on that same day. The other would be left for a picture of him and his mate that would be replaced only twice. Once on the day of his heir's birth and again on the heir's fifth birthday.

The pendant also marked a transfer of power in a way. The reason it was the grandfather's pendant that was used and not the father's is that they marked the line of succession. Had his grandfather still been alive when he'd turned five that would have also marked the day his father would have taken the throne. Vegeta looked from the pendant to the armor for a moment as he remembered what had happened.

He'd received the news of the explosion... Something had malfunctioned on his mother's spaceship while she was still a good distance from the planet. By the time the recovery ship reached the debris and found her she was dead. At that point he'd not cared about tradition anymore and just hid the pendant so he wouldn't see it and be reminded about that accident the rest of his life. Now, however...

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"I was right, you do look good in that." Bulma said as she walked into the command room. The room had about ten other people in it operating the various systems. Vegeta stood in the middle of the room in the blue armor from earlier, the cape actually reached down to the floor, which somehow it made the outfit even more impressive looking. Vegeta only cast her a glance as she walked up beside him and gazed out the window at Planet Vegeta.

"We'll be entering that atmosphere shortly." Vegeta said turning his gaze back to the planet. "You should activate the barrier field soon."

Bulma looked down at the device on her wrist for a moment before turning it on. Vadora had given her one last time she'd come here, before they were even in sight of the planet, and explained what it was for. The level of gravity on the planet would squash her like a pancake without the barrier field. Vegeta had been working on that with her though. A few simple Ki control lessons worked into her normal morning workouts. Acording to him, if she kept making the level of progress she was, she'd be able to walk around on Vegeta without the barrier in a couple months time. Part of the adjustment was getting used to the gravity itself, which she'd do by lowering the power of the field slowly over the next few weeks, which is why it was currently only set to 9.5 instead of 10.

After making sure the device was working correctly she looked up at the monitor/window again just in time for a face she recognized to appear. "Vadora!" Bulma called happily. "How are you?"

Vadora nodded. "I'm good. And Tien sends his reguards as well. He'd have come with me but he's gone off with Raditz to train. Again." she said laughing. "Anyway, you've been cleared for landing. I'll talk to you then." With that the screen switched back to a view of the planet.

"Well, let's go." Vegeta said turning and leaving the room.

Bulma followed after him adjusting her red dress as she went. Vegeta wasn't the only one dressed up for their arrival on the planet. She'd decided to forgo the shoes, she wasn't in the mood for heels, but she'd still decided on a nice red satin dress. She wanted to make a good impression. Vegeta had suggested one of the formal armors but... she just couldn't see herself in one of those.

It took the two of them almost ten minutes to reach the exit hatch they were going to use when the ship landed and then they just leaned back against the wall and waited. It took a few more minutes for the slight jerking that marked the landing of the ship and both stood upright again and straightened out their clothes. Bulma felt a little nervous as the door began to hiss and then open. Vegeta had told her they'd not be landing within the palace like her small group had the first time, they'd be landing outside, and no doubt a small crowd would have gathered after hearing that he was returning.

Sure enough a fairly sizeable crowd had formed along the walkway from the landing area to the palace. At least a couple hundred people, a good chunk of them probably Sai-jin. She heard the sound of scouters flaring up behind her and glanced back to find four guards standing there and scanning the crowds. She doubted they were there for Vegeta's sake, which made her hair stand on end.

But then her eyes moved to the bottom of the stairs as she and Vegeta started down and she saw Vadora, King Vegeta, and an alien she didn't recognize standing there. As she walked she realized just how much more gravity 1.5 times Earth gravity was. She wasn't so sure of Vegeta's estimate in her ability to walk without the barrier anytime soon. As she and Vegeta reached the stone pathway Vadora knelt and Pug bowed. "Welcome back Vegeta." The king said with a nod.

"Father." Vegeta said with a nod of his own. "I'd like to speak with you about the preparations later. I don't want to admit it but... the chance exists matters won' t stay on Earth."

His father nodded again. "Of course, of course. We'll speak once we get back to the throne room." He then turned to Bulma. "And it is nice to see you again Lady Bulma."

She blushed a little at the title, even though she knew she'd be getting it from everyone now. The two royals spoke for a moment longer and then they walked off with Pug to attend to things. "So, still cute I take it?" Vadora asked walking alongside Bulma as they moved toward the palace.

"What?"

"Don't tell me you've forgotten? The first time you came to Planet Vegeta, when I was speaking with the king..." She trailed off and glanced over to Bulma who had a puzzled expression on her face. "You really don't remember? You saw Prince Vegeta and afterwards asked who he was and said he was cute."

Bulma shook her head. "I don't remember that..."

Vadora laughed shaking her head as well. "Well, trust me, it happened." She paused for a moment before continuing, as the two passed through the double doors into the palace and the guards left. "Though I have to admit, at the time, I didn't think you'd end up becoming queen..." she shook her head as she thought back to the first time she'd met Bulma and the others. "Things have certainly changed lately."

"You're telling me."

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Bulma's eyes went wide as she looked around the room Vadora had lead her too. "Oh wow, this room's almost as big as Capsule Corp!" she said walking in and looking around. The ceiling was at least thirty feet over her head and had two large ornate cyrstal chandeliers hanging from it. Light from them danced along the walls and floor. Along the back wall rested a large king size bed covered in red satin sheets. The left wall was lined with dressers and the right had two doors.

"The Prince never stays in the same room here for more than a year." Vadora said. "This one's actually smaller than his last." She moved into the room and pointed toward the first door on the right. "The bathroom is through there, the other door is a closet. Your suitcases will be brought up shortly and unpacked for you."

Bulma shook her head. "I doubt there's enough room in this entire room to unpack all of my things." she laughed. "I brought my entire wardrobe with me." She was about to say more when the doors to the room swung open and a female Sai-jin in battle armor that she'd never seen before entered the room.

"Mango?" Vadora asked turning. "What's up?"

"Not sure exactly, Toma just asked me to come find you and take you out to the Sparring Grounds..."

Vadora glanced back at Bulma and then turned and started out of the room. "I'm coming too." Bulma said following her. The two other women nodded and the three made their way through the halls. After a few moments they emerged into the light of the outdoors again and Mango lifted up off the ground. Vadora picked up Bulma and they flew off into the distance. As they flew the sounds of fighting echoed over the lands. Flashes of light appeared randomly in the sky before them, blue, red, and white.

Suddenly a bright pink light flared to life high in the sky as a voice called out. "Thunder Crash!" The energy charged down toward the ground blindingly bright. Bulma hadn't recognized that voice but she did recognize the next one.

"Kaio Ken!" There was a flare of red and the pink energy that came to stop before being pushed off into the sky. And then the red streaked up into the air and the sounds of battle resumed. Mango began to descend and Vadora followed her down. They landed on the edge of a cliff where there were a good dozen or so other Sai-jins standing around, scouters on, watching the battle.

"Look at them go." Toma said walking up beside Vadora and Bulma. "They started really going about twenty minutes ago."

"Typical." Vadora said shaking her head.

"I don't get it... what's up?" Bulma asked trying to watch the battle but to no avail.

It was Mango that answered. "Tien and Raditz are showing off again." she chuckled. "These two have more intense spars than anyone I've ever seen. Raditz got it in his head after news reached us that he was going to help in the battles on Earth. Seems he's feeling left out, since the rest of his family gets to play hero and all."

There was a resounding crack as Tien's fist smashed into Radtiz's face and sent the Sai-jin surging down into the ground. He pulled himself to his feet slowly and look up at Tien. "Let's see if our training the other day paid off any, shall we?" he asked as he cracked his neck. Suddenly he launched into the air again. "Kaio Ken!" There was a spark of red energy about him, and then a blinding flash as a red aura flared to life and he flew up at Tien even faster.

The Human dodged to the side quickly, his own red aura fading away as he did. "Nibai Kinryoku!" As his red aura vanished a silver one flared up to replace it. The two shot in at each other again and began trading blows once more. Flashes of red and silver lit up the sky as thunderous explosions rocked the ground.

"Like I said." Mango began. "They're showing off."

Toma grinned. "Just because they're both able to beat you, you know..." She turned and looked at him, raising an eyebrow slightly, at which point he stopped talking but kept grinning. Vadora and Mango both cracked up laughing.

"Lightning Blast!" Raditz called as he flew backward, thrusting his arms out before him. A stream of golden energy surged forward toward Tien.

"Nice try!" Tien called. "Sanjuu Kinryoku!" The Human's power jumped up again and he easily dodged around the attack and surged in at Raditz. 

Before the Sai-jin could react Tien had him planted face first in the dirt. Still, Raditz pulled himself up once more. "Double Kaio Ken!" he cried shooting up again.

Tien placed his hands before him as he watched Raditz charge him, sighting up his shot between his hands. "Tri-Beam!" Gold energy sparked between his palms and then shot down slamming into Raditz and knocking him down into the ground once more, this time knocking him out as well.

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Deep Space:

"Cloaking systems are at 94 and holding." a tech called from the controls. "I think we've got the problem fixed."

"See if you can't bring us back to full power." a deep voice ordered from the doorway. "We want our arrival to be a suprise. I don't want to chance the Sai-jins even being remotely aware that we're there until after the attack has begun."

"Yes sir!" the tech said nodding and then began delegating orders to the others.

"So, how much further are we?" he asked the man leaning on the wall just a few feet ahead of him.

The man shrugged, running a hand through is blonde hair. "About two or three more hours I think." 


	3. Uninvited Guests

Chapter Three - Uninvited Guests

It had been about a half hour since the spar outside and Raditz was currently in a regen tank recovering. Bulma, Vadora, and Tien had just left the Regen Bay and Bulma was getting a tour of the palace. As they walked Vadora realized something. "You can't fight, can you?" she asked glancing over to Bulma.

"Huh? Well, no. I'm a brains person, not a fighter. Why?"

Vadora sighed. "This should be fun then. There's an old Sai-jin law, royalty must prove competancy in combat to maintain their position. It was made so Vegeta the First's descendants wouldn't slack off. But it applies to you as well."

"Wait, what? I can't fight."

Vadora nodded. "You'll need to learn. Just the basics. Punching, kicking, flying, and Ki blasts. Since you're working on adjusting to the gravity here it'll make it easier too."

"She's right." Tien said. "Gravity training makes the body adjust faster. You'll be walking around here like it's Earth sooner than you think, which will help with the Ki control."

"Tien and I can teach you that." Vadora said. "It's not as hard as you might think. It's not like you need to be able to level mountains, just show you can actually fight. We could start that today, now even, if you want. It'll help you to adjust to the gravity too."

"Well... ok. I mean, I've already been doing some Ki stuff with Vegeta..." Bulma said.

"Alright. Let's head off to the training grounds again."

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Sai-jin Palace, Throne Room:

King Vegeta had arranged for the confrence table to be set up before he'd gone to meet his son and Bulma. Now he and the Prince sat at it with Pug having a conversation. They'd been there going on twenty minutes now and had made little in the way of progress. "We already know things went horribly wrong before..." Pug said, still working at absorbing the matter of conversation. "Without the forewarning we have now everything the Empire did was reactionary."

King Vegeta nodded. "Yes, now we can actually work on the prevention. That's what we need to worry about Vegeta." he said glancing to his son.

While the Prince was willing to admit things could get out of hand he wasn't willing to admit any chance of complete failure. Still, his father did have a point. After hearing it repeated by both him and Pug for the past twenty minutes he realized he wasn't going to get them to budge. "Very well. What did you have in mind?"

"A barrier." Pug said simply. "We set up a quarantine around the Earth. Not instantly, of course. Only if things get too out of control. It's best to restrict this to one area."

"A barrier?" the Prince scoffed. "They buckle under the force of anything over a million. That wont contain matters to Earth."

"Under normal circumstances, no." King Vegeta said. "But I've been speaking with Dr. Briefs. I'm sure you've noticed Capsule Corp. has been overly busy lately?"

"I had noticed a lot of activity." the Prince replied with a small nod. "Bulma and Hotaru were almost always down in his lab..."

King Vegeta nodded. "He's working on a new system, using Earth, Sai-jin, and Tanarian technology. Unlike our previous barrier systems this one will be far more stable. On it's own it wont be enough, no. We don't think it'll withstand more than five million. But that's not where the power of this system lies. It makes use of the space distortion technology used in their capsules."

"Wait. You're going to capsulize the Earth?"

"Not exactly." Pug said. "The distortion field will surround the Earth only if the barrier field is destroyed. It'll rip apart anything that tries to pass through but will slowly dissapate. About a year later it'll fade completely. However, that's more than enough time to errect a new field. It's destruction will merely set the process into repeat. Hopefully it will buy us the time to think of something more... permanent.

"In the meantime, a counter device has already been designed. It arrived here a few days ago. If the threat is destroyed before the distortion fades we can use the counter device to eliminate the field instantly. It will be back to business as normal."

Vegeta nodded. "That works. You keep them on Earth, I'll make sure they end up dead."

"Don't get ahead of yourself Vegeta." his father said. "There's already three Super Sai-jins..."

"There will be four by then." he interrupted hotly. "I will become a Super Sai-jin. Even if Kakkarotto is as you say... he is still only a third class, I won't allow him, or his family, to be stronger than me."

"It is perhaps possible..." Pug said slowly. "That neither Kakkarotto or Bardock's powers are fueled by the Guardian legend."

The Prince turned his gaze to Pug, interest clearly carved onto his face. "What do you mean?"

"You know the two most common types of Sai-jins, correct?"

"Common types? You mean normal Sai-jins and those with reduced capacity?"

Pug nodded. "Sai-jins with reduced capacity gain power slower than the average. Tangerie, Vadora, and Appla are prominent examples of this type. Your father and I have been thinking. The likes of Kakkarotto and Bardock are not entirely without precedent. Two hundred years ago Orenja, born third class, rose to be the second strongest Sai-jin, surpassed only by the King."

"You're suggesting a third type, even more uncommon than the reduced capacity?"

King Vegeta nodded. "An extended capacity. They can gain in power easier than the average Sai-jin. Not to the degree of the Royal Family, but still beyond normal. Add to that the fact that both of them push themselves harder than any normal Sai-jin... As you know Vegeta, even though you are part of the royal family, you are also a reduced capacity. You managed to push yourself to where you are now, but with more effort than it took any of your ancestors. This is why they are able to keep up with you."

"What about Kakkarotto's kid, Gohan?" the Prince asked. "He too is..."

"An unusal specimen." Pug said. "One of the two only half Sai-jin half Humans there are. The matter of Gohan is beyond complex. While the child of Pasha, Videl I believe, is exceptionally powerful, it seems to be more the mixing of Human and Sai-jin blood than ability. Gohan, however, seems to have three things going in his favor, if we're correct that is. He, too, is an extended capacity. Plus there is the apparent effect of Human DNA enhancing Sai-jin DNA which further raises his capacity."

"On top of that. I now believe that he is the one. The Guardian powers have awoken within Gohan." King Vegeta finished. "The legend says that they will awaken when a threat to the Sai-jin race arises. The timing of all these events... Freeza, Slug, the conspiracies, this new danger... the universe began to enter this turmoil the same year Gohan was born."

"Freeza was a thorn in our sides longer than that." the Prince said, not entirely satisfied.

"True." the King continued. "But it is not just Freeza. Think about it a moment. I could have stood against him and possibly won. Goku did. The Guardian powers were not needed for him. But look at the bigger picture. Some threat, larger than the Cold Family, has begun to make itself known. Things are starting to come to a head. I don't know if perhaps the events on Earth are part of the main thing, or just some extra, but something very big is coming Vegeta. Something far more dangerous than the Cold Family ever was."

The King paused as the doors to the throne room opened and a soldier with orange skin and pink hair came running in. Reaching the table he quickly kneeled. "King Vegeta sir."

"What is it?"

"We detected a ship about thirty minutes ago." he said hurriedly. "At first we thought it was a ghost reading, we were barely getting anything, and then it cleared. But a moment later it vanished completely from our sensors. It's course was for Planet Vegeta. The others said it was nothing but you've asked us to report anything unusual."

The King leaned back in his seat in thought. "Yes, very good. You may go." he said not even paying attention. The man nodded, stood, and walked from the room. "So then, we have someone passing through our space and coming here..."

The Prince snorted. "You heard him, it vanished. There was probably nothing there, just a space echo."

"Perhaps." the King nodded. "But these warriors for the conspiracy that still runs, they have to be travelling somehow, no?"

The younger royal stiffened up at that. His mind insantly went back to his recurring dream.

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Training Grounds:

Vadora and Tien had come across Mango, Tangerie, and Toma on the way back out to the Training Grounds and the three Sai-jin had decided to come along to try and help with her training. At the moment Bulma was sitting on the ground doing as the four Sai-jins and the Human were directing. Vegeta had already taught her to tap into her ki, but it was far too low to really be useful.

Mango was looking at the reading on her scouter as she watched Bulma's power fluctuate betwen 9 and 12. After the higher powers on Earth had been removed from the planetary scans a more accurate average power of 8 had been established for the Human race. So Mango saw the reading as quite impressive for the young woman. She wasn't a fighter, just kept herself fit. And on such a low scale 9 to 12 was a pretty impressive range. Even if Chi-Chi ranked in as the strongest Human female at 72.

It still wasn't quite enough to do what was needed. A power of 15 was needed to generate ki attacks. And a power of 30 to be able to fly, although badly. They'd need to raise Bulma's power to at least 50 in order to get her to a competent fighting level. Still, that wouldn't be too difficult. The gravity would help with that, plus the training. Mango figured they'd have Bulma flying by the end of the month. Fighting, decently, would take longer. But she'd be ready.

They stood there letting Bulma focus for a while and then Toma began showing her some moves. Mango was rather impressed with how easily the woman took to the motions. Apparently the style was similar to a workout method she used back on earth. /Maybe she'll be ready faster than I'd thought./ A little later the small Chaotzu returned from his earlier trip into Saiya City and joined the others in training Bulma.

It was nearly an hour later that they finally stopped, Bulma quite tired from the exercise. "I say we head into town." Toma said smiling as they began to leave the Training Grounds. "I've not had a night out for months!"

Tangerie laughed. "You mean you haven't had a night out in months that you can remember. We just went out the other night and you passed out from too much to drink."

Toma shrugged. "A Sai-jin needs to have fun now and then. Besides, I've been bored, what with all the missions being cancelled lately." He turned and looked at Bulma who was being carried by Tien. "Tien here knows something, so does Raditz in fact, but they wont say anything. What about you? What's going on?"

Now all the Sai-jin's attentions were focused on Bulma and the woman fidgeted a bit. "It's nothing." she said at last, but not looking at any of them. Toma shook his head and then concentrated on where he was heading.

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Somewhere on Planet Vegeta:

An odd sound echoed over the landscape, low and rumbling. The ground shook, dust flying into the air and rocks bouncing across the ground. Suddenly the rock began to crack in ten seperate places as though something of great weight was pressing into the ground. And then the rumbling and shaking began to fade, the dust settled slowly, and then a hissing sounded. A crack of light appeared in mid air and soon formed into a doorway that led into a metal hall.

A set of stairs lowered slowly and then clicked as it hit the rock. Silence fell over the area once more but only for a moment. The sound of hundreds of footsteps on a metal surface began to sound. And then beings of all shapes and sizes emerged from the doorway and moved down the steps. They all wore blue and white armors and had scouters upon their faces. It took a few moments for the six hundred soliders to emerge from the ship and gather about beneath it.

A moment later three new forms emerged from the doorway. They, too, had scouters and armors. But their armors were green and brown, and oddly formed. Instead of two shoulder fins like the others each only had one fin. As they reached the bottom of the stairs they turned to look up at the doorway. And then another new form emerged into the daylight. As he gazed down at his troops his tail smacked against the floor of the hall a few times.

The man's eyes looked over his troops and then out across the landscape around him. "We're about five miles from the Sai-jin palace and Saiya City." he said at last. "That is to the North. The Sai-jin's have a research center to the east about ten miles, it's also the central communications hub. Take it out and they're voice to the universe goes with it. To the South West is the primary training facility for the new generation of Sai-jin soldiers, about 8 miles away.

"It's time to teach these Sai-jins the meaning of power! And show them what happens when they mess with the Cold Family! Dore, you and your troops take the communications hub. Neizu, you and your troops have the training facility. Salsa, you and the rest of the soliders are with me. You will hit Saiya City, I shall deal with the King and his brat."

"Yes Lord Cooler!" they all said at once.

"Move out!" In a matter of a second the space was empty once more, the soliders all doing as ordered. 


	4. It Begins

A/N: Oops, I goofed and uploaded the wrong chapter last time. This time it's right, though.

Chapter Four - It Begins

Bulma sighed as she moved over to her bed and then promptly collapsed onto it. Toma, Mango, Tangerie, Vadora, and Tien had all gone into town. Three of the four Sai-jins intended to have a private party at one of the bars in town. Vadora was taking Tien to see a movie, which struck Bulma as odd in more ways than one. The thought of Tien at a movie theater was odd enough. The thought of Sai-jins having movies confused even her mind.

Vadora had offered for Chaotzu to go along as well but the small Human had declined. Apparently he'd worn himself out exploring and shopping and wanted to rest. Bulma didn't really blame the little guy, if he felt anything like she did. Her arms were sore. Her legs were sore. Her sides were sore. Her neck was sore. Her... well, everything was sore. "What I wouldn't give for a massage right now." she mumbled as she closed her eyes and slipped into sleep.

She was woken up only a few moments later as shouts began to sound throughout the palace. She sat up and scrunched up her face wondering what the commotion was about. Standing she moved over to a window that looked south through which she could hear more voices. Looking out she saw streaks of white light flying by overhead coming from the distance. She also spotted one blue light go passed as well, and could see a light purple one fly to a stop in the sky over the palace.

As the purple light stopped Bulma's eyes widened. "Cooler!" she cried in shock at the form she saw. She recognized him from the files she'd seen. Her earlier tiredness was forgotten and she turned to move from the room when she heard a voice ring out over the area. She paused and turned to look out again as the Changeling spoke.

"My brother and father let you Sai-jins live only because they weren't sure they could beat you in a battle." he called out. "I let you live only because I didn't see any reason not to. But that has since changed. No one attacks the Cold Family and lives long. My brother was a pain in the ass and I find it amusing that it was a Sai-jin who finally broke that ego of his. However, be that as it may, I can't simply allow you to attack my family, let alone kill them, without there being consequences." Cooler crossed his arms and smirked. "Those consequences are quite simple. It's time to wipe you monkeys from existence!"

Suddenly two dark purple streaks surged into the sky along with a dark blue one. Bulma recognized the people as their auras vanished. Pug, Vegeta, and his father. She bit her lip not sure what to do at first but then turned and made her way into the hall and started for the exit.

Outside the three warriors facing Cooler had their arms crossed as they gazed at the Changeling. "You're going to wipe us from existence, are you?" the Sai-jin Prince asked with a smirk. "I find that hard to believe. Your brother and father we're stronger than you and even they couldn't do that."

Cooler just grinned. "Perhaps. But you couldn't beat them either, if I'm remembering correctly." Vegeta's smirk quickly turned into a scowl which made Cooler laugh. "You couldn't even beat me."

"Oh really? How about we see about that?"

"Oh, anytime you're ready Sai-jin. My forces will deal with the rest of you."

Prince Vegeta looked over to Pug and his father. "You two stay back, I'll handle Cooler." The King nodded as the Prince turned his gaze back to Cooler. "You, come with me. I don't want to smash up the palace along with you."

"Lead the way."

As Prince Vegeta led Cooler off toward the Training Grounds, the nearest expanse of open land, the King turned to Pug. "What about the Changeling's soldiers?" he asked. "Those that flew passed were heading for Saiya City..."

"I'm getting reports of attacks at the Research Center and at the Training Center." Pug said frowning. "Cooler must have split the Armored Squardron up to lead the attacks."

Vegeta nodded. "I saw Salsa fly passed for Saiya City." he said thinking. "He's the strongest of the Armored Squardron..."

"Saiya City is well protected I should think." Pug said. "I saw Tien heading into the city with Mango, Tangerie, Toma, and Vadora."

King Vegeta shook his head. "Salsa's stronger than Tien..." he paused as someone with a white aura flew up to where he and Pug floated. "Ah, Raditz, perfect timing."

"I heard Cooler was here..."

King Vegeta nodded. "Go to Saiya City, help Tien wipe out Cooler's forces, and be on the look out for Salsa." he paused and looked at Pug. "Any word on the other two?"

"Neizu's been spotted at the Training Center, which means Dore's attacking the Research Center."

Vegeta nodded and turned back to Raditz. "Have Toma, Mango, Vadora, and Tangerie go take care of Neizu first. Once that area's clear they are to go take care of Dore."

"At once sir." Raditz said with a bow before blasting off toward Saiya City.

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Saiya City:

Tien and Vadora waved to the others as they disappeared into the bar and then turned to walk down the street to the theater. As they started down the street the Human suddenly stopped as a siren began to blare up and down the street. "What's that?" Tien asked turning to look at Vadora.

"It's the battle alarm." she said slowly. She paused a moment, waiting to see if it stopped. But after a few more seconds of it still wailing away even Toma, Mango, and Tangerie came running out into the street again. "Looks like our fun is on hold, the planet's under attack."

"And me without my armor." Mango said lifting into the air. "Let's move!" The others nodded and followed her up into the air. As they passed the top of the towering buildings they saw over a hundred white dots of light that were dropping into the city randomly. She was about to start giving out orders, since she was the strongest, when a red light appeared just in the distance. A moment later Raditz had pulled to a stop with them.

"Orders from King Vegeta." he said making sure everyone was together. "Tien and I are to deal with those here, and to take out Salsa. Mango, Tangerie, Toma, and Vadora, you're to go deal with Neizu at the Training Center first, then head to the Research Center and take care of Dore."

"Wait, the Armored Squadron?" Tangerie asked in suprise. "But... that means..."

"Prince Vegeta is fighting Cooler now." Raditz said with a nod. "We don't have time to be talking, move!" The four Sai-jins nodded and then flew off toward the Training Center. Raditz looked back over to Tien. "Alright, Salsa's a good deal stronger than us. He's in the three hundred thousand range, but I think we can handle him."

"We have to find him first."

Raditz reached up and activated his scouter as the sounds of battle began to emanate from the city. He adjusted it to a short range scan only and it began to pick up hundreds of powers. A moment later he stopped as he looked to the west. "Bingo, one power of 318,619. Not quite twice your, and my, power but it's enough to make a one on one fight impossible."

"You get the hang of that False Moon yet?"

"Don't know for sure, but I want to face him head on first. I'll try that if things get too out of hand." He lowered his hand from his scouter. "Let's go." Twin bursts of white light flared up as the two sped off toward the energy reading on Raditz's scouter. The two were flying straight toward a towering building and veered to the right going around it. As they reached the other side they saw a blue-green skinned, blond haired man, in battle armor floating in the sky talking to a pair of soldiers.

"So, if it isn't Cooler's right hand moron." Raditz said grinning as he pulled to a stop.

Salsa turned and looked to see who'd spoken, but didn't recognize either of them. "More worthless nobodies." he said shaking his head. "Deal with these two." he said waving his hand and beginning to descend. He stopped as dual cries of 'Dodon Ray' echoed from above him. He looked up in time to see the two with their arms out, a finger each pointed at one of the attacking soldiers, and a golden stream of energy flowing from their fingers and through the chests of the soliders.

He smirked. "Oh, think you're big shots now?" he asked crossing his arms. "Still, to see two Sai-jins able to take out my troo..."

"One Sai-jin." Tien said crossing his arms. "And one Human."

"Human? Never heard of them."

"Enough talking. I just got out of recovery, I want to test my new strength."

Salsa laughed. "Well this time you wont be going to recovery. This time you'll be dead!" A blue aura flared up around him and he charged up at the other two.

Raditz dodged to the right, calling out. "Kaio Ken times three!" as he did, the brilliant red aura engulfing him.

Tien shot higher into the air. "Sanjuu Kinryoku!" Before the silver aura even had the chance to flare up his voice called out again. "Kaio Ken!" The sparks of silver that had started around him shifted quickly to red.

Salsa stopped as his scouter, which had read both of them at just over twenty thousand a moment ago, beeped madly. It stopped a second later, 166,107 for the Sai-jin, 167,405 for the triclops. "What the hell? This 'Human' is a Super Elite... and why don't I have the Sai-jin's file? Frieza documented all Second Class Elites and above."

Raditz smirked. "My power is only recently attained. I may not be able to match my father or brother, but I can handle you."

Salsa narrowed his eyes and tapped his scouter. An outline formed on the display around Raditz's face. A moment later his picture came up, as well as a file on him. His eyes widened in suprise for a moment. "So, a son of Bardock are you?" he laughed. "Don't let that Sai-jin pride of yours get the better of you. You're still just a monkey. Still, this will be a famous kill for me. Come Sai-jin, Human, time for you both to die!"

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Training Center:

Mango pulled to a stop as she reached the training center. Toma and Tangerie let go of her ankles as she slowed. A moment later Vadora pulled up beside them. They could hear the cries of battle and see the flashes of ki attacks. "Damn, none of us brought a scouter." Toma muttered as he gazed about. "What do you sense Vadora?"

She scanned the battle with her eyes and senses. "Lots of powers, probably about the ten to twenty thousand range." She shook her head. "I can't find Neizu, there's too much interference."

Mango scanned the ground below her for a moment and then dropped quickly. The others soon followed her down and watched as she moved over to one of the fallen soliders and removed his scouter. Putting it on she activated it and checked the area. "251,286. That's Neizu. It's coming from inside the Training Center."

"Ideas?" Tangerie asked keeping an eye out for attack. "Even the basic troops are stronger than Toma and I."

Mango nodded. "The lowest reading I'm getting is just around eighteen thousand. And even I can't deal with Neizu. At least, not like this. Vadora?"

The female Sai-jin grinned as she held an arm out and turned her palm skyward. Energy sparked all along her arm and then began to gather across her palm. A moment later there was a flash as a ball of energy formed. With a grunt she pitched it into the sky. "Moon Ball explode!" she cried as it reached a high enough point. There was a flash of light and then an explosion as the energy ball erupted and bathed it's light down upon the planet.

Vadora drifted up into the air and then floated backwards slowly as the others gazed up at the false moon and began to transform. As they began to grow taller Vadora shot up into the air and towards the false moon. "Self-sustaining or not, I'm still going to keep my eyes on this thing." she said softly, wishing she still had her tail to help in the battle.

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Training Grounds:

Vegeta dropped toward the ground and landed softly. Turning around he faced Cooler again, his blue cape fluttering out behind him. "I thought you had some actual brain power Cooler." Vegeta said cracking his neck. "Apparently I was wrong. I mean really! Thinking you could actually defeat Pug or my father." Vegeta smirked. "Well, you wont even get to try now. I'm going to tear you limb from limb."

Cooler laughed. "Oh, is that so Sai-jin?" He shook his head. "I have a few tricks up my sleeve, you'll see things wont be so easy as that."

"Ha! Whatever 'tricks' you have wont save you. Come on, let's do this!" Vegeta cried taking a battle stance.

"Ready when you are."

Vegeta narrowed his eyes as his legs tensed. "Then... let's go!" he shouted launching forward.


	5. War on Planet Vegeta

Chapter Five - War on Planet Vegeta

Bulma rounded a corner to start toward the front doors and found Chaotzu floating there talking to an armored Sai-jin. "What's going on?" she asked walking toward them quickly.

"The planet is being attacked." Chaotzu said looking back. "Everyone's out fighting them back... I want to help but... I'm not nearly strong enough. I haven't trained as much as Tien..."

"What about Vegeta?" Bulma asked looking at the guard.

"The Prince?" he asked. "Last I heard he was going off to fight Cooler."

"Cooler!" she cried worried.

"Don't worry, he can deal with Cooler. Besides, if things do get dicey Pug and the King are out there."

Bulma bit her lip and looked passed the guard toward the doors. There were more guards along the way and standing at the doorways. She couldn't tell how strong any of them were but she figured they were rather powerful, and fast, if they were guarding the palace against intrusion. She'd have no chance of getting passed them.

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Saiya City:

Twin streaks of red surged up at Salsa and began to attack him quickly and fiercely. The alien was having some trouble keeping up with both opponents at the same time. "You're just lucky it's us you're fighting." Raditz said as his foot smashed into Salsa's head knocking him into a building. He turned and faced him with Tien at his side. "If you were dealing with Mango and the others you wouldn't even have a chance to fight back."

Salsa pulled himself free of the building with a jerk and burst of energy. Steel and concrete tore free with him and fell to the ground below. "Mango... Second Class Elite, power of about eighty thousand if I remember right." he shook his head. "And what makes you think she could do better than you?"

Raditz smirked. "That's a secret. I expect King Vegeta had Tien and I deal with you, instead of having Mango do it, because he knew I'd like the challenge." He reached up and popped his neck. "You must realize, though, that this is all a waste. A suicide mission. Even if you did manage to get passed Tien and I there's still the Prince, Pug, and the King. They could all kill you in a split second."

The blonde alien laughed. "You stupid monkey. Lord Cooler will take care of those three easily." He smirked. "He'll have his fun dragging things out, making them suffer, but in the end he'll kill them."

"Is that so?" Raditz asked crossing his arms. "And how's that? Cooler's a weakling. Pug's even stronger than him, Prince Vegeta is close."

Salsa smirked. "That's a secret."

"This is just wasting our time." Tien said taking a battle stance again. "Let's just get this over with."

Raditz uncrossed his arms and readied himself as well. "Right. Come on Salsa, let's see what you've got!" Twin flashes of red erupted once more as the two warriors launched in at Salsa. The alien's own blue aura flared up as they reached him. Raditz's fist smashed against the alien's forearm with a loud crack as the Human's fist did the same on Salsa's raised leg. 

The commander of the Armored Squardron sent out a shockwave and blew the two away before charging towards Raditz. "Alright then Monkey, you want to see what I've got do you? Well then, here!" he cried as he reached him and slammed a fist into Raditz's stomach. The Sai-jin's armor cracked slightly under the blow as he doubled over Salsa's fist, his mouth opening wide in pain.

Salsa was about to swing his other fist at the Sai-jin's head when Tien came charging in from the side smashing his foot into his head and knocking him into the building again. This time he didn't stick to the wall but passed clean into it. The two shot in after him. Thunderous cracks and flashes of red and blue emanated from the hole and the windows. Suddenly a loud crack sounded and the entire building shook. That was followed by blinding red light working it's way down floor by floor at high speeds. 

A moment later there was an explosion and the building shook again. A bright flash of red flared in the first floor windows, and then they exploded outward. The exterior walls cracked and buckled and then the entire building came crashing down. There was silence for a few moments and then the ground began to shake in sync with more loud cracks. Several minutes later an explosion of blue blasted a hole in the debris and Salsa surged up into the sky once more.

Stopping about a hundred feet up he looked down and charged balls of ki in both hands. A second later he was firing energy blasts rapidly down into the rubble, each one exploding and showering debris everywhere. He kept up his attack for nearly five minutes before charging a larger blast in both hands and pitching it down for good measure. It exploded shooting dust up around him and sending debris out for a couple miles in every direction.

Brushing dust off his armor he grinned. "One Monkey and one Human down. The universe is a better place."

His scouter beeped as a pink light flared up below him, several blocks from the rubble of the building. Then a voice cried out. "Thunder Crash!" Salsa's eye's widened in shock as the massive orb of sparking ki surged toward him. At the last second he brought his arms up in defense and then the blast slammed into him with a savage explosion. As the glare faded it revealed the sleeves of his body suit had been shredded.

He'd just started to lower his arms when Raditz slammed his knee into his stomach and Tien smashed his foot into his back. The dual impact shot his eyes wide, his mouth gaping in pain, as blood sprayed out into Radtiz's hair. For a moment his vision went blurry and his limbs numb but it cleared. As it did he headbutted Raditz and then spun around backhanding Tien. "Learn to die damnit!" he cried glaring at them.

"This isn't fun anymore." Raditz said frowning. "He may be stronger, but he's worthless. He's got no skill. Hell, he doesn't even know how to defend properly."

"Why you!" Salsa shot in at Raditz at full speed cocking back his fist along the way. "This time you die Monkey!"

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Training Center:

A loud roar echoed over the training center as a transformed Mango tilted her head back and stretched her new massive body. Similar roars came from Toma and Tangerie as they finished transforming as well. A moment later the Training Center began to shake and then part of one of the walls and ceiling collapsed as an Oozaru emerged from within. And then another and another began to grow up as well.

The attacking soliders in the area pulled back and Vadora smirked. The weakest of the Oozarus was at at least ten thousand. This turned the odds considerably in the favor of the Sai-jins. Mango now outclassed everyone else present, including Neizu, wherever the alien was hiding. The attacking soldiers took a few moments to regroup at the sudden appearnce of five dozen Oozarus but then the battle was on again.

Neizu pulled back from the Sai-jin he'd been about to blast into oblivion as he'd begun to transform. "What is this?" he wondered in shock. "There's no moon here!" He quickly reached up and thumbed his scouter. "Dore, I need you help. Somehow these Sai-jins are tranforming!"

"What do you mean?"

"I've got a few dozen Oozarus here!"

"Shit, I'm on my way."

Neizu sighed and shot up into the sky and out of the crumbling Training Center. As he did he spied a light floating in the sky above him and someone floating there as if guarding it. /Simulated full moon light/ he wondered. /Impressive. Well, time to take it out./ He prepared to launch up toward it when his scouter began to beep wildly. Turning he saw an Oozaru glaring at him, teeth bared. It was the source of the reading and he swallowed as it leveled off at over 839,980.

He reached up and thumbed his scouter again. "Hurry up Dore, there's a Second Class Elite here!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming."

Mango let out a growl as she reached out and backhanded Neizu with a loud crack. The alien pulled to a stop several dozen yards away, very sore. Pink energy flared up around his hands as he stared at the large Oozaru. With a cry he thrust his arms out and the energy shot out and engulfed the Oozaru which began to roar in pain and anger. "Heh, one fried monkey coming up!"

Just then Dore pulled up beside him and looked around. "What in the hell? How'd they all transform?"

"That light I think." Neizu said looking up again.

"Huh? Oh, ya, that could work I guess." he said looking at it. "So uh, should we take it out?"

"Yes. You deal with it, I'll handle this Oozaru. Now that it's trapped in my Field of Agony it's not going to be a problem."

"Right." Dore turned and looked up toward the light. He could see a form near it but according to his scouter it wouldn't be a problem. With a grin he shot up.

Vadora felt him coming before she saw him. "Shit, Dore..." she muttered. At least it was better than Neizu. Dore she might be able to handle. That is, if the Kaio Ken actually worked. "Here goes nothing. Triple Kaio Ken!" The red aura flared to life around her, she felt the energy surge through her, and then nothing. It vanished. "Damn!" With a burst of speed her blue arura flared up around her and she sped backwards away from Dore.

The large green man grinned and changed course to follow her. "Where do you think you're going Monkey?" he called laughing.

Vadora turned around and then shot down toward the ground veering to the right as she did. She could sense Toma and Tangerie nearby. As they came into sight she smiled and poured on more speed. The two large Oozarus saw her coming with Dore on her tail. A moment later she'd passed between them. As Dore attempted to follow he was smashed between two massive fists.

As they moved their arms back he fell toward the ground for a second before catching himself and shaking his head. Suddenly he spied a large fist charging for him and swerved out of the way at the last moment. Before he could do anything else another large fist slammed into his back rocketing him foward. Up in the air Vadora smiled as she watched Toma and Tangerie bat Dore around. "Now, let's try this again. Triple Kaio Ken!" Once more a red aura flared around her and then flickered out.

The Sai-jin scowled. "Damn it, come on! Triple Kaio Ken!" This time the aura flared up and stayed, as did the power boost. "That's more like it!" With a flash she charged down toward Dore who'd just kicked Toma onto his back. The green alien had turned to attack Tangerie when his scouter beeped. He turned just in time to see Vadora smash her foot into his face.

Back on the other side of the Training Center Neizu was content with watching his would be attacker struggle within his Field of Agony. "See, no Monkey could ever match my ability!" he laughed. "That field could even hold Captain Ginyu, you wont be getting out any time soon."

Mango let out a loud roar and energy began to build within her mouth. Neizu's eyes widened in shock. "Hey! You can't do that! You should be paraly..." He was cut off as the energy blast shot forward and then engulfed him. When the light faded there was no sign of the alien. The large Oozaru then dropped to it's knees, let out another loud roar, and then began to shrink. Mango collapsed unconscious as she finished reverting, the energy that had been around her vanishing.

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Training Grounds:

A thunderous crack rang out across the fields as Vegeta's fist slammed into Cooler's crossed arms. The Sai-jin Prince didn't waste a second and quickly spun about lashing out a spinning kick toward the Changeling's head. The incoming kick met with a raised arm and was deflected. With a grin Cooler shot his other arm forward and slammed his fist into Vegeta's unprotected stomach causing him to stumble backwards.

He recovered quicker than Cooler expected and the Changeling was caught off guard by a hard left to his jaw that lifted him off the ground and sent him sailing backwards. Vegeta floated a few inches into the air and then charged after him. His left foot surged out but caught nothing but air as the purple skinned alien vanished. Vegeta suddenly felt Cooler above him and turned to the right quickly just dodging an attempted blow to his head.

The Prince turned around and surged back in once more and the two began to exchange blows at lightning speeds. The ground below them trembled and shook, the rocks lifting into the air. A powerful kick to Vegeta's stomach doubled the Sai-jin over, the shockwave gouging out a crater beneath the two warriors. Suddenly an elbow smashed into the back of his head and the Prince found himself slamming into the ground face first.

A second later Cooler's foot smashed into the ground where Vegeta had been. The Prince narrowly avoided the blow as he rolled to the side. His legs shot out and took Cooler's out from under him. As he flipped back up onto his feet he smashed them into Cooler's jaw knocking the alien into the air once more. With a cry he charged up toward him and once more the two began to exchange blows again.

"You're better than I expected, Sai-jin." Cooler said smiling as he blocked a punch.

"As are you." Vegeta replied with a grin while deflecting a kick.

Cooler chuckled. "I'm only getting warmed up." There was a crack as he headbutted the prince away and then charged after him.

A few dozen yards away King Vegeta and Pug stood watching the battle. "The Prince has improved quite a bit." Pug said.

"Indeed. However, I'm worried." King Vegeta said slowly. "Why would Cooler come here and attack us? Surely he knows he's outmatched in power..."

"Perhaps an all out plan?"

"Wipe out the planet... yes, I'd thought of that. But he could have done that just as easily from space, without us even knowing it was coming."

"Ego." Pug said, starting to grin. "The only race with bigger egos than the Sai-jin's are the Changelings."

Vegeta laughed. "That is true. Still... I can't help but think he's up to something..." 


	6. End Round One

Chapter Six - End Round One

Bulma paced around inside the entry hall of the palace nervously. "I can't just stand around here!" she cried for the hundredth time. She looked toward the guards but they'd learned to ignore her by this point. With a sigh she moved over to where Chaotzu sat, head in his hands. "Can you tell what's happening out there?" she asked sitting down beside him.

"Tien and Raditz are fighting the second strongest of the four high powers." he said frowning a little. "He's a good deal stronger than them but it feels like they aren't having much trouble..."

"Probably Salsa." one of the guards said turning to the two Humans. "Cooler's right hand lackey. I saw him fight a few years ago. He's strong but he's not very skilled. He's one of the types that thinks power is everything, but without skill you can't use it."

Chaotzu nodded. That made sense with what he'd been feeling. Tien and Raditz were both highly skilled fighters, they'd have little trouble picking apart someone that had no skill, not matter the other's power. 

"What about Vegeta?" Bulma asked.

"Cooler's stronger but they seem to be going pretty evenly at the moment." Chaotzu said. "And I felt the fourth strongest guy heading over to the third a little bit ago, shortly after Mango reached the area and transformed."

"Transformed?" the guard asked suprised. "How could she...?"

"Vadora must have used a False Moon." Bulma said standing up and walking over to a window and looking out of it. She couldn't see the False Moon, either wrong direction or too far away. "First Zarbon, then Namek, then Slug, those other two, and now this... I keep walking into trouble lately." She stood there in silence for a moment before looking back behind her. The guards were looking the other way and she bit her lip. /Time for a little excitement Bulma.../ she thought, and then began to slowly creep along the wall toward the exit.

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Saiya City:

Raditz saw him coming but the alien's speed was too much for him to successfully dodge. He managed to move to the side enough for the punch to only graze his jaw but it still hurt like hell. The Sai-jin slipped around to Salsa's side and then spun and slammed the heel of his foot into Salsa's chest cracking his armor. The blonde warrior floated back holding his chest and coughing up blood. "You... curse you... rotten Monkey! I'm stronger... than you!"

"And yet you suck." Raditz said grinning. "Hey Tien, mind if I finish this loser off myself?" he asked looking over to the three eyed Human.

"Sure, go ahead."

Raditz grinned and raised an arm holding it out beside and behind him. Pink energy began to dance around his hand as energy gathered. His grin turned into smirk. "Say good-bye Salsa, it's time for you to die! Thunder Crash!" He pitched his arm forward as though he was throwing a baseball and hurled the orb of sparking pink energy at the elite warrior.

Salsa's eye widened as the attack surged toward him seemingly in slow motion. He wasn't used to having a challenge in a fight and certainly hadn't expected any Sai-jins to be able to even give him a workout. And yet, here he was, about to be killed by one of them! One almost half his strength at that! "No! Not today you worthless Monkey!" he cried thrusting his arms forward at the last instant. There was a spark of blue around his hands as they contacted the energy orb. A loud crack sounded and the orb was knocked charging back toward Raditz.

The Sai-jin pulled back as his eyes widened in shock. "What! Damn!" He quickly pulled his legs up and crossed his arms. A second later the energy sphere slammed into him and exploded. The blast knocked him flying back and down toward the ground. He smashed through ten buildings before slamming into the street. He groaned as he unfolded his legs and moved his arms before climbing to his feet. His arms and legs were seriously numb and yet still stung like hell. He reached up and rubbed his throbbing head as he looked back up at Salsa.

The alien was floating there smirking down at him and he growled. Raditz bent his legs, and in a flash of red and burst of energy that tore up what was left of the streets he charged up at Salsa once more. The alien smirked as Raditz neared him. As the Sai-jin lashed out with a vicious right hook he slipped to the side dodging and then slammed his fist into his stomach. Raditz's eyes snapped open in pain and he coughed up blood. "No, Sai-jin. It's time for you to die!"

Salsa pulled back and then held out his arm, open palm inches from the other's face. Blue energy sparked across his palm but he never got the chance to fire. Tien had charged in and launched a spinning kick at his face. The Human's heel slammed into the alien warrior's face with a loud crack that sent him flying into the distance. "I'll take it from here, your power's dipped too low." Tien said glancing back at Raditz. The Sai-jin simply nodded while holing his stomach.

Tien turned back around and then shot up into the air. He made sure there was enough distance between them before he stopped and then cupped his hands and placed them before him. Looking down between them he saw Salsa finally pulling himself to a stop and then looking around for him. Golden energy crackled between his palms as he channeled his energy. The building attack set Salsa's scouter off and he looked up.

"I've got you now!" he called surging up toward Tien. "Say good-bye Human!"

"You first! Tri-Beam!" There was a flash of gold between his palms and then the energy surged down at the charging alien.

Salsa's scouter beeped madly as the energy erupted forth and neared him quickly. 200,000... 300,000... 400,000... 500,000... the scouter exploded as his eyes widened in fear and shock. He didn't even have the chance to block, the attack slammed into him and drove him down into the ground with a powerful explosion as they hit. Tien relaxed, his muscles shrinking slightly after expending so much energy.

He felt it before the explosion, Salsa's energy had faded and then vanished. The head of the Armored Squadron was dead. He turned and saw Raditz floating slowly up to him, his hand still holding tightly to his abdomen. "You should probably hit the Regen Tanks again." the Human said as the Sai-jin finally reached him. "That last blow you took did quite the number on you."

Raditz nodded. "I'd heard Salsa was a brute force fighter. Able to focus his power down to a pinpoint for blows several times stronger than him. Just never thought I'd experience it." The Sai-jin turned his head at that point and proceeded to loose the breakfast he'd had that morning. Wiping his mouth a moment later he shook his head. "And I need to learn that Tri-Beam of yours..."

Tien smiled. "Well, if you still insist on coming to Earth after this I'll try and teach you."

"Oh, I'll be there." he said before wincing. "I'm going to go get to a tank."

"Right. I'll go see if Mango and the others need some help." The two nodded and then Tien shot off toward the Training Center while Raditz slowly made his way back to the palace.

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Training Center:

Dore slamed head first into the concrete. Vadora floated in the air above him smiling at the ground as she pulled her arms back, red energy sparking about her hands. "So this is the power of the Armored Squadron?" she asked as she saw a bright flash of light and then felt Neizu's energy fade. "You're outdated, just like the Cold Family! The Sai-jins are the supreme power of the universe now. Say good-bye Dore!" She thrust her arms down and the red balls of Ki that had formed pulsed larger and merged. "Inferno Cannon!"

The large ball of Ki before her swelled, flashed, and exploded into a stream of energy. The wave of Ki surged down and smashed into the ground rocking what remained of the Training Center and knocking a few Oozarus off their feet. The energy swelled as it hit and then exploded blasting a large crater into the ground. Lowering her arms Vadora smirked. That is, until she noticed Dore's power behind her. She spun around and saw him floating there, arms crossed, his one shoulder fin busted off, covered in dirt, but little worse for the wear.

"How did... but you were..."

Dore laughed. "I waited right until your attack started and then moved out of the way while you were distracted." he said with a shrug. "You're not half bad for a monkey, but you can't beat me."

"We'll see about that!" she called launching in toward him. He waited for her and once she reached him they began exchanging fierce blows, his doing more damage and getting through more often than hers. Flashes of light and thunderous claps rang out with each landed or blocked blow. Suddenly he slipped around a punch and moved behind her. His foot shot out and smashed into the back of her head knocking her down toward the ground.

She pulled to a stop only inches up and shot back into the air, her red aura trailing behind her and the burst of power blasting out a crater in the ground. She reached Dore faster than he expected and managed to crack her fist across his jaw knocking him higher up. Vadora shot after him but he recovered before she reached him and deflected her kick before slamming his knee into her stomach and then wrappaing his arms around her and pulling her into a bear hug. "Heh, I'll just snap you in half!"

Vadora struggled against him as she felt the pressure increasing. She thought of trying a higher Kaio Ken but decided to wait until there was no other option. It looked like that wouldn't take long though, much more of this and her bones would start to break. She was just about to up her Kaio Ken when her eyes snapped wide in pain and shock, a crack coming from her now broken left arm. The sound of the arm breaking was drowned out, however, by her cry of pain.

Dore laughed. "One bone down, a few hundred t..." he was cut off as a foot smashed into his head. His grip on Vadora loosened and she broke free.

She turned and saw Tien floating there, a red aura pulsing about him. With a smile she floated over to him, her left arm hanging limp. "Good timing. I guess that means Salsa's dead?"

"Dead and gone." Tien replied looking over to her. "We need to end this fight quick though. My power's drained and yours is too."

Vadora was about to reply when Dore came charging in and smashed his fist into Tien's stomach. The Human doubled over and gasped out in pain, his eyes going wide. The large green alien pulled back and then spun about in the air aiming a powerful backhand for Tien's face. The tri-clops brought his right arm up to block at the last second and the large alien's energy encased hand smashed into it with a loud crack. Not the normal crack of a simply blocked attack but the crack of breaking bone.

The last remaining member of the Armored Squadron was about to attack again but was caught off guard once more as Vadora's foot smashed into his back. "You're not very good at rescuing people." she said with a grin and glance toward Tien. "So... now what?"

Tien scowled as he fought the pain in his arm and his own tired body. Suddenly he smiled and raised his left arm holding it across his body and toward Vadora. "Lend me a hand?" he asked. She glanced at him again and saw his hand, and it's position. Instantly her good arm came up and matched it forming a triangle between the two of them. Both charged energy into their palms as Dore recovered once more and raced toward them. He was only a few feet away when their voices called out together. "Tri-Beam!"

The large green alien grinned and stretched his arms out intending to simply tear through the attack. As the attack formed, a second before the two before him called out, his scouter flared up. The power reading started at 200,000 and climbed rappidly. By the time the energy was surging toward him it had shot passed 450,000 and he had no way of defending against it. He barely had the time to realize this before the golden energy overtook and obliterated him.

Panting Tien and Vadora lowered their arms. "The others can deal here." Vadora said turning toward the Moon Ball in the sky and obliterating it. "We should go to a regen tank." Tien nodded and moved around to her other side. They wrapped their arms around each other and flew off toward the Palace using the other as support.

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Training Grounds:

Vegeta backflipped in the air and came down slamming his feet into the ground and gouging out two long trenches with his feet as he slammed his hands into the ground as well using the friction to stop. He snapped his head up grinning and then reached an arm up and wiped a trickle of blood off his chin. An explosion of purple engulfed him as the ground beneath him erupted into a shower of debris and he launched forward.

As the Sai-jin Prince charged he drew back his right arm and closed it into a fist. Reaching Cooler he lashed out with a hard right hook but the Changeling slipped around it only to be met with a kick to the side of his stomach. Brushing off the blow he countered with an elbow uppercut that connected squarely with Vegeta's jaw lifting the warrior into the air higher. He spun attempting to smash his tail into the Sai-jin's head but the Prince reached up and caught it. With a quick twist and downward drop he slammed Cooler face first into the ground smashing out a large crater.

Still gripping the tail he planted his feet firmly in the ground and then lifted the Changeling into the air, brought his arm across his body, and then slammed him back down into the ground again. He moved to repeat this but as he got Cooler above his head, the alien's arm reached down and grasped his wrist. Using Vegeta's momentum against him, he flipped over in the air and then slammed the Prince down into the ground.

Cooler then pointed an arm down at him and was about to blast him when suddenly a bright flash of purple flared up and an explosion emanated from where Vegeta was. The explosion knocked Cooler flying back and clear off the crater. As he righted himself the Sai-jin Prince came charging out of the dust toward the Changeling. The alien quickly brought his arms up and blocked the incoming punch before slamming his knee into Vegeta's stomach and then backhanding him away.

The Sai-jin Prince crashed to the ground a few hundred yards away before sliding to a stop. He climbed back to his feet slowly, panting heavily, as Cooler landed across the way only slightly winded. "I could do this all day." Cooler called after a moment as he brushed some dust off his shoulder. "It makes for a good workout."

Vegeta growled and was about to take off into the battle again when he felt a hand on each shoulder. Looking back he saw his father on his right and Pug on his left. "You did well Vegeta." his father said slowly. "But I don't trust this Changeling. He's up to something, he's too cocky."

Pug nodded slowly. "Yes. I'll take this battle from here." 


	7. Universe's Strongest

Chapter Seven - Universe's Strongest

Bulma had grabbed a capsule earlier, before leaving her room, and once she'd gotten out of the palace she'd been glad she had. Now she was speeding across the open expanse between the palace and the Training Grounds atop her air bike. Behind her she could still hear the battle and she could see the fight before her. Not the actual combatants but the flashes of light from their blows, she could feel the gusts of wind and see the ground shaking below her bike. She surged up over a hill and then turned the bike sidways and pulled to a quick stop as she saw King Vegeta and Pug not far away. 

She'd just started looking for Vegeta when an explosion of purple came from the ground. She missed the exchange of battle that followed but saw the Prince come crashing down as the other two walked toward him. From where she was she could only faintly make out what was said first by Cooler, then by the King, and then Pug. She did get the basics of it though, Vegeta was safe now it seemed. With a sigh of relief she climbed off the bike and capsulized it again as Pug made his way toward Cooler.

The Changeling grinned and laughed. "So then, the mighty Sai-jin Prince is sidelined by his father's lap dog? I thought you were going to tear me limb from limb. You're just as pathetic as my brother said." Cooler smirked as he saw the Prince's reaction to his comments but then turned his attention to Pug. "Well then, Rondo, do you actually think you can take me?"

"You're out of your league Cooler." Pug said stopping only ten yards away from the other. "Your brother and father may have been far stronger than I but your power is nothing I can't handle."

Cooler reached up and pressed his hand against his neck popping it. "You don't honestly think I'd come here if I didn't know I could win, do you?" he asked after a moment, crossing his arms. "I'm more than you or any monkey could ever hope to match."

"Your only chance at victory is destroying the planet." Pug said. "But that would have only worked with a sneak attack. Either I or King Vegeta could repel any attack you can muster, and even if you got lucky and took out the planet, King Vegeta would still survive long enough to kill you."

Cooler laughed. "Is that so? Well, I see it differently I'm afraid." he pursed his lips as he gazed at the three before him. "Tell me, do you know the history of my family?" he was silent a moment as he looked them over but got no answer. "No, I didn't think so. It's really quite intriguing. It was several hundred years ago that my grandfather was born. Frigid was born with more power than any Changeling before him but wasn't overly exceptional in power.

"You see, the leader of our people at the time could do what no other Changeling could do. He could transform twice. Blizard was the first Changeling in more than a thousand years to attain that level of power and was sure in his position as the strongest Changeling, even if Frigid was stronger than average. But as the decades passed my grandfather's power grew and grew. He gained access to the second form and Blizard took note offering him a position in his ranks. Frigid refused and defied him so Blizard had him put to work in the Crystal Caverns." Cooler flipped his tail about him as he smiled. "Frigid served Blizard for several decades until the one hundredth Tournment of Skulls."

"Tournament of Skulls?" The Prince asked scrunching up his face. He didn't really have any interest in the history of the Cold Family or any Changelings for that matter, but he was interested in how Cooler thought he could win. If that meant a history lesson then so be it.

"Yes. Once every fifty years the Tournament of Skulls was held on our homeworld. Captured traitors to the throne were pitted against each other in battles to the death. The winner of the Tournament was offered two choices. They could be sent to our world's moon to spend the rest of their days or they could challenge our King in hopes of taking his place as ruler. Frigid, as many before him, elected to battle Blizard after he won the tournament.

"The battle was fierce, both warriors in their second forms at the start. But Frigid was losing. It was then he revealed what all believed was his trump card. He transformed into the third Changeling state." Cooler smirked. "The battle turned in his favor for a while but eventually Blizard came back to his senses and transformed as well. The battle moved from the ring of the Tournamnet and out across the planet. No one saw what happened but during that battle Frigid revealed his true trump card. An all new transformation! He had done what none before had achieved. He had accessed the fourth Changeling state!"

King Vegeta narrowed his eyes. He knew Changeling history pretty well. Frieza had insisted on spouting his heritage every chance he got. But there was something with how Cooler was telling it, especially that last part, that he didn't like. /Is it possible? A fifth form? No, that's absurd. Besides, if Cooler could transform he'd have not put up with his brother's constant goading and gloating./

"Get to the point!" the Prince called.

"Patience dear Prince." Cooler said. "There's still much to tell." The Changeling arched his back cracking it before continuing. "With this newly unleashed power he toppled Blizard thus beginning the start of his own Empire. Father had already been born by this point, secretly, within the Crystal Caverns. His power was even more impressive than Frigid's. His first form was stronger than most Changeling's second forms, even at his young age.

"We're not sure what happened to Frigid, we have tattered records of a battle and narrow defeat somewhere in the reaches of space at the start of the Empire. But father took over, even as a child his power exceeded most others. He eventually attained access to his second state and then had my brother and I. I was born first but it was Frieza who first attained the second form. I followed a decade later but his power was growing in leaps and bounds. Neither of us matched the might of Frigid let alone our father but we were still more powerful than the average.

"I broke through to the third form first but Frieza followed only two days later. More time passed and then Frieza followed in Frigid's footsteps and transformed into his fourth form." Cooler's tail lashed out and smashed into the ground. "Even after I did the same a year later his arrogance knew no bounds!" his expression turned to a scowl but faded to a smile as he started to laugh. "I meant to keep it a suprise until the coming Tournament of Skulls in about twenty years' time. I was going to rip that ego of his in half."

King Vegeta tensed. He did not like the sound of this.

"You see, he was sure the fourth form was the ultimate in Changeling power. He trained and trained for a long time and never got beyond it. Eventually he gave up trying to and merely focused on increasing his power in that state. Me... I never gave up. Fifteen years ago it happened. I followed in Frigid's footsteps by attaining a level of power held by no Changeling before me! I had intended my brother to be the first to see it but with him dead I guess that's not an option." Cooler smirked. "However that means you shall receive that honor. Prepare to see the ultimate power of the universe!"

Cooler let out a roar as he suddenly hunched over, his purple aura flaring to life about him and his body pulsing and rippling. Power washed out from him across the battlefield. The three warriors facing him shielded their eyes as dust and rocks flew about madly. Suddenly Cooler began growing taller, spikes grew on his arm armor, his shoulder armor grew up, horns spiked out on his head, and his eyes turned pure red.

The entire thing only took a moment and then it was over. He was now considerably larger than he'd been before and his grin far more menacing. Of the three warriors facing him only the Prince could sense his power and he growled. "Too much for you?" Cooler asked, his smirk growing. "Well, let's get this started, shall we?" With that a mask suddenly formed over his face and he shot in at Pug.

The Rondo recovered from his shock in just enough time to cross his arms in defense and block the powerful punch that had been aimed at his chest. The impact shoved him back a couple yards but he shook it off and charged in at the Changeling. Only feet away from him both warriors vanished. A second later the sky above the Training Grounds became alight with explosions as the battle resumed up there.

"How much power does he have?" King Vegeta asked glancing down at his son.

"He's a little weaker than Pug..." the Prince replied. With a growl he tried to follow the battle but was having trouble. "And he's still holding back."

"You sure?"

The younger Sai-jin nodded. "I felt a sharp spike during the transformation. Too short to know how high but it was higher than this..."

"And he thinks he can stand against me... and Frieza." The King turned his gaze back up toward the battle.

Pug slipped around a right hook and then slammed his knee into Cooler's stomach. Before he could follow up with another attack the Changeling's left fist smashed into his face knocking him away. The tyrant surged in toward the other and slammed his foot into his chest knocking him down into the planet once more. No sooner had he hit, he was flying back up toward his opponent. The two became little more than streaks of blue and purple as they arced through the sky attacking as they drew near each other.

Prince Vegeta growled and clenched his fists as his senses followed the battle. /How is everyone stronger than me? I am the Prince of Sai-jins, only my father should have more power than I! And yet.../ he shook his head as images flashed in his mind. Images of those who'd surpassed him. Everyone from Kakkarotto to Cooler. With a cry his purple aura flared to life around him and he surged up into battle, his cape billowing behind him, much to his father's shock. And that of the blue haired woman now standing only a few yards behind the king.

Vegeta pulled back his fist as he surged in toward the two warriors above. Pug saw him coming a second later and pulled back in shock. With a cry the Prince smashed his fist into Cooler's face with a thunderous crack but the Changeling didn't even flinch. "Want to play some more do you?" Cooler asked laughing. Another loud crack sounded as the tyrant's knee slammed into the Prince's stomach doubling him over and making him cough up blood. He then spun around and smashed his tail against the side of his head sending him sailing down toward his father once more.

The King barely even noticed as the light glinted off another object that fell from the sky and to the grass beneath the Changeling. He moved in quickly and caught his son before he hit the ground and laid him down softly finally noticing Bulma as she moved over to them. "You shouldn't be out here." he said glancing at her.

"What difference does it make if you don't win?" she said without even looking at him, simply kneeling beside the unconcious Prince.

The King frowned slightly but had to admit she had a point. So instead of pressing the matter further he left his son in her care and returned to watching the battle which had once more resumed. /I'm not sure how much power you've got in reserve Cooler, but I'll see to it that you have to use every last drop to defeat us./ Reaching up he released the clasps on his armor and his red cape billowed in the wind as it fell to the ground. In a flash of purple he surged into the air toward the battle.

Cooler saw him coming and brought his arm up to block a punch just in time to stop it from smashing into his head. The three floated there for a moment and then the battle resumed once more. Now with both Pug and King Vegeta to contend with Cooler was having a considerably more difficult time. Vegeta and Pug slammed their feet into Cooler's stomach at the same time and then slammed their elbows into his face knocking him back.

As he pulled to a stop he saw both of them charging again. With a roar he threw his arms and head back sending a shockwave of power out around him pushing them back and his power jumping up so that he was now a little stronger than Vegeta. Pug and the King glanced at each other a moment and then charged in again. 


	8. Out of the Ashes

Chapter Eight - Out of the Ashes

Bulma had moved Vegeta a bit back from the battle and was now cradling the unconcious Prince in her arms, without even realizing she was doing it. She couldn't see a thing of the battle above her beyond rapid and random flashes of light and streaks zipping about wildly. "Oh... Goku, we could use you here..."

"We... ugh... don't n-need... Kak...kar..rot..to." the Prince rasped slowly and painfully. His eyes fluttered open slowly for a moment and then closed again as he slipped back into unconciousness.

"Oh... Vegeta." Bulma said worriedly gazing down at him. "Well, at least I know your brain wasn't damnaged. Still as stubborn as ever."

"You can't win!" Cooler called out as he slammed a fist into each of his opponents' stomachs doubling them over. "I'm going to enjoy killing you slowly, and then the rest of your pathetic race." the tyrant said backhanding the king away from him. Turning to Pug he slammed his knee into the alien's chest and then smashed his elbow into his back driving him down into the ground. The warrior didn't move to get back up.

Cooler turned as he heard a yell and saw the Sai-jin King down on the ground, his aura pulsing and swirling around him, the planet shaking beneath his feet. "What... he's powering up?" Cooler cried in shock. "But... that's not in the records!" The King's arms and chest began to slowly expand, his muscles growing to contain the power he was building up. A vein stood out along his neck pulsing rapidly. And then, with one last yell the king threw his head and arms back.

His purple aura flared out for a moment and then shrank back down to nomral, thick and wild around him as he relaxed. "Your brother and I both knew the other was holding back power." Vegeta called up as he cracked his neck. "Neither of us knew exactly how much the other had. My records stood at 10 million and his at 12. As we saw through the battle on Namek his true full power was just over 17 million. My full power is just over 15.5 million! Haa!" With a cry he launched toward the Changeling, his aura trailing behind him.

The Changeling barely even saw the Sai-jin move as he charged him. His eyes snapped wide as the King's fist smashed into his stomach doubling him over for a change. The Sai-jin royal didn't give the other a chance to think and followed the punch up with a knee to the head, an open fist to the chest, a kick to the back, and then he grabbed his tail and dove downward smashing the Changeling into the ground before floating back up into the air and gathering purple energy in each palm.

It only took a moment to gather the power he needed and then he thrust his arms down. His voice rang out as the purple energy surged downward. "Galic Gun!" The energy reached the point where the tyrant was embedded in the rock in a matter of seconds and then exploded savagely. The entire planet shook as dust and rock was flying high into the air surrounding him. The king panted lightly as he relaxed a little, his muscles shrinking slightly. He'd expended a bit more energy in that assault than he'd intended... hopefully Cooler was feeling the effects more than him.

When all the dust and debris finally settled he saw only one of Cooler's hands sticking out from the settled rubble. Suddenly the Changeling let out a roar of anger and the rocks around him exploded violentely and the tyrant leapt to his feet. He looked up and glared at the Sai-jin king. "I underestimated you." he growled slowly. "I will not make the same mistake twice. You just missed your one and only chance at defeating me!"

With that he let out a cry as his aura flared up. /Rotten Sai-jin's reduced my power quite a bit! At this level... maxing out what I have left will only be around 75 of what my true maximum is! No matter. 75 of my current maximum should be enough to handle this pest./

The King stared down in shock as he tried to gather his energy again for the battle and recover from using so much in a single attack like that. It was something he knew could cause problems but he wanted to try and bring Cooler down quickly not knowing the full extent of the Changeling's power. Now that Cooler was powering up again he realized it may have been a very bad move indeed. The tyrant's arms bulged with the power flowing through him and a moment later he finished and turned his solid red eyes back up to the Sai-jin King. "Now, are you ready!" he cried up before launching up once more.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Raditz furrowed his brow inside his regen tank. Something felt... odd. He couldn't place his finger on what it was though. He had this strange... sensation. It felt like there was a pulse inside his head. It wasn't painful or even distracting, just... there. No, not just a pulse, several. He furrowed his brow further as he focused on them and they began to grow in clarity, shifting and changing. Some large and some small. /What... is this/ he wondered. /Wait... could this... I'm sensing the powers on the planet/

As realization dawned on him he couldn't help but grin. The one skill he'd been having trouble picking up was finally his. After the excitement faded a little he focused on what he felt. A lot of powers were out there but most didn't feel too powerful, not that he really knew the difference beyond comparing it to his own energy. And then a strong force seemed to slam into his brain. Not a painful hit but a strong and overwhelming presence. It took a moment for him to process it and realize it wasn't one but three powers.

/Three of them... a lot stronger than I am... that has to be where the king is... what the hell? This doesn't make sense... The three powers are in the same range... Cooler isn't that strong... and where's the Prince/ He frowned as he suddenly felt the lower power drop down drastically and he lost track of it. He wasn't sure if it was just too low for his new ablity to pick up or if it had actually vanished... he just knew he didn't like it. /I have to help the King/

Suddenly his regen tank began to beep as it started draining. Outside the tank he could hear voices picking up now. "What the hell? Raditz's tank is draining!"

"Is it a malfunction?"

"No, he's reading stable... but he should need at least another hour!"

A second later the tank was empty and opening. Raditz climbed out and quickly donned the fresh armor that had been set out for him and reached for his scouter out of habit. Before his hand even grasped it, however, he caught himself and smirked. "Heh, don't need that junk now." he said grinning as he grabbed a basic communicater instead and walked from the room. It only took a moment to get outside again and once there he could see the battle in the distance as well as feel it.

As he'd exited the palace, the ground had shook not once but twice, and with both times the powers he felt had shifted. First the one went up and then both went down. Now the weaker one was going up again. Shaking his head he lifted into the air and shot off for the battle. As he neared he heard what sounded like a distorted version of Cooler's voice. Then he spied the oddly formed Changeling surging into the air. "What the hell?" he wondered, realizing that his power was greater than that of the King's.

He felt something below him and glanced down to find Bulma and the Prince. He descended quickly. "What that hell happened?"

Bulma turned and looked at him. "Oh, Raditz... Cooler... I don't know... but it doesn't look good."

The Sai-jin turned his head skyward again as the battle between Cooler and the King resumed. Only, now, it didn't look like much of a battle. The Changeling was having little trouble landing blows, the King couldn't even see him move now, and Vegeta was unable to block. Not that he could see either of them moving, they were both well beyond his ability to follow, but he could feel them now. "That's an understatment." he said to Bulma softly. He then heard a low groan coming from the Prince.

The Sai-jin looked down as the younger royal's eyes opened again and he moved from Bulma's arms into a self sustained sitting position. "My head... ugh... my everything hurts... What hit... COOLER!" he cried looking up. Suddenly his eyes widened. "No way... that... that's impossible!" he stammered feeling Cooler's power. "How... how do we beat that?"

Raditz frowned and looked down at his right hand. "I... might have a way for us to win." he said after a moment.

Vegeta looked over to him seeing the Sai-jin for the first time. "What are you talking about?"

"A False Moon." Raditz said at last. "I haven't managed to do it right yet but... if I can then the King can transform. Even after the Moon Ball is destroyed he'll remain transformed, either until his tail is removed, he's knocked unconcious, or a span of 30 minutes has passed."

The Prince growled slighly. "If I still had my tail I could take Cooler as well. You..." he focused on the Sai-jin's power and then shook his head. "You wont be of much help though."

"No, I suppose not, but I doubt King Vegeta will need any help." Raditz said slowly. "Well, we wont know until I do it... let's just hope it works." He clenched his fist and began to gather the energy focusing intently on the formation of the ball. If it wasn't done just right the explosion wouldn't generate the right kind of light wave output and it'd be useless. "Prince Vegeta... I'm going to keep my eyes averted from the ball after it's formed, I can't control my Oozaru state. You'll need to destroy the False Moon after the King has transformed... if this works." The Prince merely nodded.

Raditz exhaled slowly as a spark of blue formed around his hand and then the energy took shape. "Well, here goes our... last chance." he said slowly before hurling the ball high into the sky, noticed only by the King who had noticed Raditz preparing it a moment ago and was currently looking for where Cooler had gone. 

The Sai-jin leader grinned as he saw it and the source of it knowing exactly what it was. "Cooler!" he called, just before the Moon Ball was launched. "This is your end now."

Suddenly he felt a presence behind him. "Oh? Is it now?" Cooler asked smugly. "It seems like I have the upper hand."

"Not for long." the King replied watching the energy ball that was now above him and still climbing.

And then Raditz's voice called from the ground. "Moon Ball explode!" 

Cooler's head shot up as the energy exploded savagely in the air. "What is this?" he cried floating back slowly. He turned his gaze down toward the ground and saw the Prince now back on his feet, a woman beside him, and a long haired Sai-jin on the ground in front of them. He didn't notice the Sai-jin King was staring at the light in the sky, or that his muscles were rippling and his eyes had gone pure white. Slowly his tail unfurled from around his waist and began to expand as hair grew over his body.

"It worked!" the Prince cried grinning as he felt his father's power growing.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Earth:

Goku froze in the middle of charging a Kamehameha and looked up into the sky, the energy in his hands fading and his spar with Bardock, Gohan, Videl, and Piccolo temporarily forgotten. The Namek noticed the Sai-jin's sudden distraction and motioned to the others, all of them pausing and floating over to where he was. "What is it Goku?" Piccolo asked.

"Something..." he said. "I feel something... faint but growing slowly."

The powerful Namek glanced over to Bardock for a moment and they both looked up as well and tried to find what Goku had felt. "What?" Bardock wondered aloud after a moment. "That's... that's coming from around the area of Planet Vegeta!"

"Unreal!" Gohan cried, eyes going wide. The power had already passed all of theirs and was still growing. "What... what do you think it is?" he asked looking over to his grandfather.

"My best guess... It has to be King Vegeta transforming."

"You mean, into an Oozaru?" Piccolo asked.

Bardock nodded. "The King's record power is about 10 million, this... this feels close to 100 million."

"He's even stronger than all of us at max..." Goku said in awe. "And it's only an Oozaru..."

"But why?" Videl asked. "Why would he transform?"

"Something must be happening." Bardock said at last. "I can feel... there's a power on Vegeta higher than anything that should be there."

"Let's head back to the Embassy." Piccolo said turning in that direction. "We'll see if we can contact Planet Vegeta."

"Right." the others said in unison, turning and flying off for the Embassy.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Planet Vegeta:

The ground shook as the now massive Sai-jin King landed, his large feet creating small craters as he hit the ground. The Prince thrust an arm up and a second later the False Moon exploded. Cooler looked at the sparks of light as they faded and then back at the Oozaru King. "This isn't possible!" he cried. "They simulated full moonlight!"

"Like I said, this is your end now!" the King roared, his loud and deep voice echoing off into the distance. Suddenly a chorus of cheers came from behind Radtiz, Bulma, and Vegeta and all turned to see the Sai-jin warriors from the palace and Saiya City gathered at the edge of the Training Grounds, come to watch the fight having cleared out the last of Cooler's men. The King turned his large head back around and locked his pure red eyes on Cooler. "Even at just under three quarters of my full power I'm still far more powerful than you. Say your prayers Changeling!"

The King oppened his mouth and began to gather energy to blast Cooler when the Changeling suddenly vanished. Vegeta blinked and looked around for some sign of the tyrant but couldn't see him anywhere. "I lost him." Raditz said, glancing around as well. "One second I could sense him and the next..."

"I don't get it." the Prince said looking off to the right. "How did he move so far so fast? Can he... dematerialize?" He shook his head. "Father! That way!" he called up pointing. "It seems he can dematerialize!"

The large Sai-jin King growled and turned to look the way his son was pointing. "Running wont save you Cooler!" he called walking off in that direction. On the ground Raditz had locked onto Cooler's power again and both he and the Prince could sense that it was, once again, going up. A moment later it stopped as Cooler reached his full power, more than four times below that of the Oozaru king.

Suddenly his power vanished again, moving across to the other side of the Training Grounds, and then off in another direction, and then another. "Damn it!" Raditz yelled. "He's jumping around at random!"

The Sai-jin King growled and tried to focus his mind. He'd not yet mastered the ablitiy to sense Ki and doing so as an Oozaru wouldn't be an easy task. Oozaru minds were primitive, geared toward straight out brute force more than thinking power, hence why most couldn't control their Oozaru forms without training, and some couldn't do it period. He felt something faint for a moment but then it was gone and he shook his head. With Cooler moving so fast he'd never get a lock on him.

"King Vegeta!" Raditz called up suddenly. "He's getting closer each time he moves! He's coming back in!"

The Oozaru nodded and kept looking about. Suddenly his eyes snapped open wide in pain as Cooler suddenly appeared for all to see and came down to the ground landing, arm held across his chest, energy sparking around his hand. A loud thump sounded a moment later as the King's tail hit the ground, no longer attatched to the king. All went silent as the Sai-jin King began to shrink. As he returned to normal size he fell over, passed out from the sudden and sharp pain of losing his tail.

The silence was broken a moment later by low mummurs from the gathered Sai-jins as Cooler stood. The tyrant held an arm out and pointed his palm at the prone King. A loud crack sounded a second later as Prince Vegeta slammed his foot into the side of Cooler's head. As with his last attack on the Changeling it did nothing. However, Cooler lowered his arm and turned to look at the Prince who now stood only a few feet away growling at him.

He took a step toward the Sai-jin who stepped back cautiously. However, Cooler made no other moves toward him. In fact, he seemed to freeze. The Changeling lifted his foot up and moved it back looking down at the ground to see what he'd stepped on. There, laying in the grass, was a small pendant with a yellow green gem. The chain attatched to it seemed to broken. Curious he bent down and picked it up.

Vegeta scowled as he watched the Changeling pick something up off the ground. He didn't know how he'd do it but he had to stop Cooler somehow... or at least stall him until his father came around again. And then, as his mind worked on finding a plan, he noticed what it was Cooler was looking at and his gloved hand reached up to his chest and found his pendant missing.

Cooler flipped it over and read the back of it wondering how it ended up in the middle of the battlefield. As he finished reading the inscription he noticed a small swtich on the side and brushed it which caused it to open up. His eyes widened in interest as he looked at the images inside and he started to chuckle softly. "Oh yes... yes, now I remember these things." he said at last. On the cover side was a picture of the King, a female Sai-jin that must have been his mate, and a young Prince Vegeta. The other side contained an image of the Prince and the woman he'd seen a moment ago.

He looked up again, over the Prince's shoulder, and saw her standing beside the long haired Sai-jin. "Ah, so, you've found a mate Vegeta." he said laughing again.

"Give that back Cooler!" Vegeta growled.

"Oh, I think not." the Changeling said closing his fist and crushing the pendant into little more than dust as he relaxed, letting his power drop some again. Vegeta's fists clenched tighter as the Sai-jin Prince growled again. Cooler's eyes moved once more back to Bulma. "I think... I'll save you and your father for last." he said after a moment. "Neither of you are a match for me now." He started walking foward. "I'll kill off the rest of you first, one by one."

"Over my dead body!" Vegeta cried charging in.

"In due time." Cooler replied before vanishing just as the Prince reached him.

Vegeta pulled to a stop and looked back in time to see Cooler appear only feet from Radtiz and Bulma. "I think... I'll start with Vegeta's mate." the Changeling said. Raditz moved between Cooler and Bulma quickly, holding his arms out to shield her. Cooler laughed. "You think you can stop me?" A loud crack sounded as Cooler backhanded Raditz away. The Sai-jin flew nearly twenty yards before hitting the ground and gouging out a trench for another ten, where he then passed out.

"Don't touch her!" Vegeta cried charging in toward Cooler again as the tyrant reached a hand out toward Bulma. The Changeling merely raised his other hand and slammed the back of it into Vegeta's face knocking him back and down. The Prince pulled himself up to his hands and knees and looked up to find Cooler holding Bulma up in the air by her neck, the woman kicking her feet at him and grasping at his hands to try and get free.

Off to the side his father had come to again and was getting up as well. As the King saw the scene before him he shot in at Cooler again. As with the Prince the Changeling barely even reacted simply lashing out with his tail and slamming it into the King's chest cracking his armor and knocking him back.

"Cooler!" Prince Vegeta growled as his fingers dug into the ground. As he glared across at Cooler his eyes caught a glimmer of light a few feet ahead of him, the remains of his pendant. Everything suddenly started flashing before his eyes. The accident that killed his mother, his defeat at the hands of Nappa, his inablity to defeat Pong, his failure in the fight against Frieza, seeing a third class Sai-jin surpass him, learning that Bardock and Gohan had done the same, all of it. 

/I am the Prince of all Sai-jins and yet... I can't even.../ His fists clenched in the ground as he lowered his head, his eyes starting to burn. /What good am I? I can't even... protect my mate... my people.../ A tear dropped down followed by a second and a third. /I've... failed everyone... I don't... don't have the right to call myself the Prince of all Sai-jins./ His fists closed even tighter. He suddenly had the urge to beat himself up.

/How pathetic am I? Suprassed by Kakkarotto, Bardock, and that half-breed brat! Beaten by Cooler... I can't even... can't even stop him from destroying.../ Suddenly his head snapped up again, his pupils vanishing making his eyes pure white. 


	9. The Rise of Vegeta

Chapter Nine - The Rise of Vegeta

Bulma struggled against Cooler's grip trying to get free and trying to take breath as the Changeling choked her. But his grasp wasn't going to loosen any time soon. As she clawed at his hands again she saw Vegeta's head go down. /Oh... Vegeta.../ she thought, closing her eyes, knowing exactly what was going through the Sai-jin Prince's head. Then, through the growing fog in her mind from lack of oxygen, she felt something. Opening her eyes she saw Vegeta's head snap back up, a look of anger, hatred, and determination on his face far beyond anything she'd seen before, and a faint gold glow she recognized.

The King was back on one knee and was about to launch in to attack Cooler again when a glow came at the corner of his eye. Turning he saw his son standing slowly, hands held open before him, a thin whispy gold light drifting up around him. The Prince's hair shifted gold for a split second as he raised his eyes from his hands to stare at Cooler, the Changeling still with his back to the Sai-jin. Vegeta's solid white eyes shifted, the pupils returning, but teal now instead of their normal black.

"I am..." Vegeta rasped, his eyes scanning over the crowd of Sai-jins before settling on Cooler and Bulma again. "The Prince of all Sai-jins..." His hands clenched as the ground beneath his feet began to crack and lift into the air. "I will not... fail my PEOPLE!" he suddenly roared, throwing back his head and arms. The faint gold light around flared up savagely engufling him in a golden aura. The planet shook and the Changeling finally turned to look at the Prince, his grasp on Bulma loosening just enough that she could breathe a little.

The ground under and around Vegeta cracked and shattered, debris lifting into the air and exploding as the column of gold energy swirled around the Prince shooting high into the sky. The glare of the aura swelled brighter and brighter and then flashed blinding everyone for a moment. When the glare faded it revealed Vegeta floating several feet above a newly formed crater, head and arms still held back. He slowly lowered his arms, panting lightly, as he relaxed. And then he lowered his head again and looked at his hands once more, through a golden haze around him.

Looking back up at Cooler he smirked. "Now, Cooler... you face your end, I have become a Super Sai-jin! I'll give you one chance to let her go before I make you."

Cooler narrowed his eyes but then started laughing. "Super Sai-jin... yes, I recognize the look. Don't think that pitiful transformation will help you against me!" he called, his grip on Bulma's throat returning to it's previous strength once more cutting off her air supply.

Vegeta pushed off shooting across the planet at full speed. Cooler's eyes widened in shock as he saw how fast the Prince was going. He didn't have a chance to move before Vegeta reached him slamming a fist into his face with a resounding crack and sending the Changeling sailing away, his grip on Bulma breaking. Vegeta caught the Human before she even began to fall and gazed down at her. She was passed out from the lack of oxygen but he could still feel a stable energy from her.

He walked over to where his father stood watching as Cooler climbed back to his feet. Reaching the King he handed Bulma over to him. "Keep her safe." he said simply, turning to face the Changeling again. "Now, Cooler, it's time to finish off your family once and for all." Vegeta called, walking toward him at a relaxed pace, the cheers of the gathered Sai-jins sounding around him, soaking into his very being. "You may have intended to wipe us out but you never stood a chance. We are Sai-jins!"

"You are monkeys!" Cooler yelled as his aura flared up again and his power jumped back up to his maximum in his weakened state.

The Sai-jin Prince grinned. He was stronger than Cooler, he could feel it. They were just close enough to keep the fight interesting. "Monkeys, are we?" he asked, still walking foward slowly. "Well, it must suck being weaker than a monkey."

"Weaker than you? Ha!" Cooler yelled launching in. Vegeta's arms came up and he blocked the punch aimed for his chest. He then counted with a roundhouse, slamming his heel into Cooler's jaw and spinning him around. His other leg shot out and smashed into Cooler's back rocketing the Changeling forward. Landing he started walking foward slowly again as Cooler flipped around in the air and landed.

The Changeling growled. "Rotten Sai-jin! If your father hadn't gotten in that lucky shot earlier you'd be no match for me now!"

Vegeta smirked. "Excuses, excuses. You just don't like being weaker than me."

Cooler's toes dug into the ground and then he launched in toward Vegeta. The Sai-jin Prince slipped to the right and Cooler's fist caught only the blue cape of his armor. The Prince lashed out with a foot as Cooler passed but suddenly the Changeling vanished and Vegeta met with a foot to his back instead. Turning quickly he lashed out with another kick but once more Cooler vanished. This time, however, when the Changeling reappeared Vegeta's arm came up and blocked the kick aimed for his head.

"Your tricks wont help you against me." Vegeta said scowling at him. "I can follow your movements even if I can't see you."

"Ha! You just got lucky that time!" Cooler laughed.

Vegeta shook his head. "Oh, no, there's no luck involved in this. I can sense your power level, track it, I know where you are at all times. And I know how strong you are. I must admit, you're close to my power, but not nearly close enough to win. Now, let's put an end to this!" Suddenly Vegeta charged in and smashed his fist across Cooler's jaw knocking him into the distance and shot after him.

As he reached the Changeling the two began to trade blows still moving across the planet. Cooler managed to land several but Vegeta was landing several more and Cooler was beginning to lose his footing. In a matter of moments the two had completely circled the planet and were back at the Training Grounds again. Suddenly the Changeling thrust both arms forward and fired a massive stream of Ki at Vegeta. The Sai-jin Prince brought his arms up to block and the attack drove him backward several yards.

As he lowered his arms he looked up sensing Cooler high above him. And then he saw it, a massive ball of Ki above the Changeling's head. "Very well Sai-jin, I'll just wipe out this entire planet!" he cried bringing his arm down and sending the ball of Ki straight for Vegeta. The Prince surged up into the air to meet it and caught it in both hands, but the attack began driving him back down toward the planet. He could feel it, Cooler's power had dipped considerably, he'd pushed a lot of his energy into this attack... it would take everything he had to push it back.

As his feet hit the ground again and the energy still pushed him down he heard Cooler laughing. "I am the Supreme Master of his universe! I am the Great Destroyer, the Taker of Life! It is I who decides who lives and who dies! And it is my will... that this wrteched planet... and everyone on it... be anhiliated!"

"Over... my... dead... BODY!" Vegeta roared, golden energy sparking around his hands. "Prepare to die Cooler! FINAL FLASH!" There was a flash of gold from his palms and then a stream of golden energy almost as wide as Cooler's death ball pushed up into it and drove it back up at him. The ground all around him tore apart and flew up into the air as the backwash rushed out around Vegeta.

"What!" Cooler cried in shock. Before he had the chance to react the attacks slammed into him. Unprepared for the impact the energies tore passed him unhindered, his echoing cries drowned by the roar of the energy. Vegeta let his attack die away a moment later as Cooler's energy vanished. He stood there in silence, panting lightly, trying to see if perhaps the Changeling had gone into hiding.

And then he felt a faint power dropping toward the ground quickly and looked up. A small black dot was descending quickly. A moment later a barely councious and badly injuried Cooler hit the ground a few dozen yards from the Sai-jin Prince. Vegeta walked over to where Cooler lay embedded in the ground and glared down at him. "I suppose I should be thanking you." Vegeta said at last, clenching and unclenching a fist. "For pushing me through, helping me become a Super Sai-jin."

He tilted his head to the side as a stream of energy shot passed him, from Cooler's eyes. Frowning he pointed an arm down at the Changeling and began to charge energy in front of his palm. "So, thanks. And now, good riddance to you and your family. The Sai-jins rule this galaxy now." The energy in front of his palm expanded and then shot forth. The energy blast impacted, exploded, and incinerated the fallen Changeling. "Hmph. He made that even easier, burning himself out with that Death Ball." Vegeta said gazing at the crater that marked all that remained of Cooler. "He may have actually had a chance if he'd fought instead of acting like a coward..."

"Vegeta!"

The Prince's head turned as he heard Bulma's voice call out and then saw her running across the field to him. She reached him a couple moments later and wrapped her arms around him. "You okay?" he asked after a moment.

Bulma nodded. "Just a little sore." Her eyes moved up to his hair. "You know, blond's a good look for you."

Vegeta just smirked as his hair and eyes changed back to normal. He then pulled back from Bulma and gazed around at the crowds. The Sai-jins were silent still, absorbing what they'd seen. The Prince turned his attention over to his father who was kneeling beside Raditz at the moment. Turning that way he made his way over to him, Bulma following close behind, a low rumble beginning to sound from the Sai-jins around the field. By the time he reached his father the rumble had turned into a full out celebration.

Vegeta knelt down beside his father and saw that Raditz was awake again. "He's having trouble focusing... might be a concussion." the King said. "He's just lucky Cooler gave him a light tap." He was about to say more when Raditz's communicator beeped with an incoming message. Reaching out the King took it and put it on. "This is King Vegeta."

"King Vegeta, is Raditz ok?" Tien's voice sounded.

"He'll need a little time in the tank again but nothing major."

"I felt Cooler's power vanish..."

"Dead."

"That's what I thought." Tien said sighing in relief. "We've got a transmission from Earth. Seems Goku and the others sensed your transformation."

"I'll be there in a few minutes."

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Bulma let the cool night breeze blow across her face as she closed her eyes. It felt good to be able to relax some. After everything that had happened earlier that day the peace and quiet now was very much welcome, for her and the other Sai-jins. A count had been made, of all Sai-jins killed in the attack. The King, Prince, and a now conscious and healed Pug, had all been pleasantly shocked. The death toll totaled all of eight.

There had been talk of reviving those eight but in the end that had been discarded. With the uncertainty of what was to come in a few years keeping the Dragonballs gathered and safe at Goku's was seen as the better option. With the low death count from such an attack the Sai-jins were in high spirits. Spirits boosted higher yet by Vegeta's transformation into a Super Sai-jin and the subsequent death of Cooler.

It hadn't taken long for the two royals to arrange a massive celebration. Saiya Park, at the center of Saiya City, had been left undamaged by the battles. The massive expanse of open space was now packed with Sai-jins. Tables full of food and drink numbered in the hundreds, music blared from every corner, and a few friendly spars were going on here and there. Bulma sat in her chair high up at the top of the only structure in the park, Vegeta sat on her left and then the King on his left.

She opened her eyes as the sounds from below faded away into silence and she saw the King standing at a microphone. "Today is one for the history books. We repelled an invasion by Cooler with few losses. The Cold Family is now no more. And the Prince... has become a Super Sai-jin!" The noise returned again but the King raised his hand and got silence a moment later. "We will celebrate tonight, recover from our celebrations tomorrow, and then set about restoring the damage done."

He took a deep breath. "Even though the Cold Family is gone a threat still looms in the future. A threat not just to us but the enitre galaxy." His eyes roamed over the crowds below him. Only a handful of people were 'in the know' about the dangers that awaited them in two more years time. "A threat far greater than the Cold Family is growing on the Earth. Our greatest warriors, as well as the Prince, will be there to head off this threat. However... there is a chance it could still spread.

"There's a saying on Earth. No matter how good you are there is always someone better. We must keep that in mind. Just because the Changelings are gone, just because we now appear to be at the top in the galaxy, we can't rest. We must still drive ourselves forward, constantly trying to make the Sai-jin race better, because there will always be threats and we must be ready to face them!" He was silent for a moment and then grinned. "But that doesn't mean we can't have some fun now and then!" Suddenly the sky was alight with blue and green flashes as a thunderous boom resounded. The fireworks show had begun.

-End Saga- 


End file.
